Vicissitude
by BizzareDragon
Summary: Best friends since birth, but completely different, Sora and Riku relied on one another for everything. But now, Riku begins to notice that he no longer cares for Sora as just a friend, but something more. So what's to become of their friendship?
1. Denial is only the First Step

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters… and in the future, if I happen to claim that I do, know I'm just brooding over the fact that I actually don't.

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SUMMARY: They'd been best friends since Sora was born, but couldn't be more different. Sora was a year younger, slightly short and skinny, quiet, and very shy. Riku was a year older, lean and tall, outspoken, and social. Despite their differences, they relied on one another to get through times of difficulty and tragedies of the past. But now, Riku, at age eighteen, begins to notice that he no longer harbors just friendly feelings for the younger boy, but, though he continues to deny, he becomes infatuated with him. Can he try to keep the tension from arising between the two and wave it off as nothing? Or is this something he simply cannot hide from? Either way, Sora takes notice of these changes. So what's to become of their friendship?

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Chapter 1 - Denial is only the First Step

Riku peered from behind his hiding place at the large, silver boulder on the beach, a wide grin set upon his happy face.

As childish as it may be, Sora and he had been playing hide and seek… in a way. After eating at Sora's home only moments before, Riku excused himself for a much needed trip to the washroom, intent on relieving himself on the barrels of paopu juice he and Sora had chugged as a challenge. After tending to his problems, he was about to head back to the table where Sora and his mother sat, but Sora's bedroom door, open slightly ajar, seemed to taunt him. Riku's curiosity won over and the boy stepped inside. What happened afterwards involved Sora walking in on Riku, who stood skimming a magazine he had found underneath the younger boy's bed; a quite _naughty_ magazine; blushing and yelling on Sora's part, and Riku's teasing and ignoring Sora's protests and excuses, which had merely made it worse.

Which led to this. Riku giddily hiding from an embarrassed and angry Sora.

As his gaze left the rock's body and fixated on the scenery around him, he noticed a figure standing near the waves. Riku's aqua eyes widened and his lips parted only the slightest. Sora.

He stood beneath the darkening crimson and violet skies, a calm but almost sad, wonder-filler gaze latched onto the far horizon. The wind blew gently, seemingly caressing his soft, chestnut spikes, while the waves crashed against his ankles. The sun's last rays of the day were shot out toward Sora, bringing an orange glow to his face, lighting a fire in his deep, blue eyes. He looked so peaceful, so amazingly serene, yet full of question and curiosity.

Riku nearly forgot to breath. Or balance for that matter. In a wave of luck, he managed to catch himself before falling to the sand due to his unconscious leaning from the rock's edge.

It was Sora. And for some strange reason, it piqued inside of him something unknown to Riku. Realizing he was staring, Riku shook his head, scolding his brain for having him marvel at his best friend like that. With another grin, he slowly walked toward the beautiful boy in the water, immersed with the attempt to keep himself quiet and unseen. As he closed the distance between him and Sora's back, he felt his foot attach itself to a branch, and, before he could wrench it free and continue his journey ahead, the damn thing had him falling forward.

And right onto Sora.

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It was calm. And quiet. Sora had forgot all about the event with Riku and how he irked him so. He _was_ looking for him, really. He just got sidetracked as he saw a glimmer of light pass across the sky. That got him to thinking. The islands were his home, sure. He'd been here since he was born, and his mother had too, and his mother's parents, and theirs too. But no one ever spoke of a world away from Destiny Islands, and he wouldn't be surprised if someone said that all the world was, was a small stump of ground, water, and the beautiful islands. Sora, however, knew differently.

His father was from outside of the islands, though he didn't know just where, since his mother didn't like to talk about him as much as Sora would have liked. She was a happy woman, and nosy at times too. But that was alright, seeing as Sora would rather have her hyper and strong willed than boring and downtrodden. She had married his father when they were rather young, he supposed, for his mother was only nineteen years older than him. And she and him had hit it off great! Until… he decided on going on short business trips back to _his_ home.

Sora let out a sigh.

Those trips became longer and more frequent until, eventually, he just never came back. They had gotten a letter from him when Sora was seven, four years after he had disappeared. The man apologized and explained his situation, though his mother would not say _what_ that situation was exactly, and offered to send gifts and money, but never to come home. Sora's mind worked out some details and led him to believe that his father had found himself a mistress, who was now presumably his wife. Or maybe she was long gone and forgotten. And he had a _new_ woman in his life. Either way, it was someone other than his mother who had lured his father away from them.

Sora sighed again. And now from the way his mother acted, everyone thinks Sora has a dead father. Why he never decided to correct them was beyond him. After all, he _knew_ his dad was still alive, and he had proof too. Letters, presents, money.

And now that he knew there was something that existed beyond the waters of Destiny Islands, he was determined to know _what_ exactly. Ugh. But it would be such a pain to get people to agree.

On these islands, it wasn't just 'ask-your-mother-before-doing-something', it was 'ask-your-mother-but-make-sure-it's-okay-with-the-other-island-residents-before-doing-something'. So in essence, there was no way in hell Sora would be leaving his sandy prison anytime soon. But he wasn't too affected by it. He had his mother there, his friends, and of course-

THUD

Riku.

"_Oof_!" He groaned, what a way to get shaken out of one's thoughts. And he got a pretty unpleasant sip of seawater while he was at it. "Riku? What are you… ugh, get off!" Sora attempted to roll over, but the boy atop him would not budge.

Was he dead?

"Riku? Hey, you o-" Another unfinished sentence as Riku's long fingers dug into Sora's side in a ticklish gesture, making Sora cry out with laughter. "S-stop! Riku! Quit it!"

Sora wasn't the only one laughing, passing couples and elders watched the sight with amusement dancing in their eyes. Ahh, youth…

Riku continued his merciless punishment at Sora's sides and stomach. "This is what you get!"

Sora's eyes brimmed with tears, his arms flailing around to get the elder boy off of him. "What did I do to you!?"

Riku let out a laugh of his own, then moved away from his former prey. He sat himself down near Sora's laying form and dusted the white sand from his knees. "You dork," He shot him a grin. "I was left hiding behind a rock in this heat while you daydreamed! Seriously Sora, you've got a one-track mind."

Sora blushed in embarrassment at his laughter. "I do not, I was just thinking, that's all." He sat himself side by side with Riku and averted his gaze to the nearly night sky.

"'bout your dad again?"

Sora snapped his attention to Riku. How does he always know what's going through his mind? "How did…"

"You're always thinking about him, It's not like it's something new. I mean really Sora, someone like you can't handle anything new, it'd be like… the island flooding. Hard to grasp." He laughed again merrily, watching Sora form a pout.

Sora narrowed his eyes at his friend, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Without a warning, Sora pounced on him, pinning his arms above his head. He smirked. "You were saying?"

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Riku couldn't help but laugh. Sora looked rally cute when he pouted. Especially with the light blush forming on his smooth cheeks. He wanted to sigh and shake his head, ask himself what was wrong with him for thinking that, he'd never thought it before. But too bad his laughter had a mind of its own, not allowing even the slightest change to take place in his mood.

Well, until Sora jumped him.

Riku gasped, his back hitting the ground with a soft thud. His eyes widened as Sora clasped his hands over his head. What was he doing? "S-Sora…"

"I think the island's gonna flood." He said with a soft smile, his ocean blue eyes lighting up.

Riku felt strange. His heartbeat had increased gradually, and his face felt kind of hot. Here he was, laying on the hot sand practically helpless, as Sora, his best friend, straddled him.

"F-flood?" It came out barely a whisper. Riku scolded his body for reacting like this. What the hell was wrong with him!?

"Ya, you said if I ever did something new, the island would flood. Well, here it is. I've never done this before." He raised his eyebrows seductively, hoping to receive a laugh or a joke from Riku, but no success.

Riku continued staring in slight awe. He was bemused to say the least. After all, Sora was undoubtedly the shyest boy, no, _person _on the island. This was so unlike him!

Riku wanted to close his eyes, shut them tight and push Sora off. But his eyes moved for him instead, inching over Sora's fairly tanned cheeks, his small nose, his pretty cerulean eyes, his luscious pink li-

Whoathere!

Riku laboriously turned his head, finding it hard not to look at the brunette. He wanted an answer. Why was he acting so strange, what was up with this erratic behavior of his? And why wasn't Sora moving off of him, damn it!?

To his surprise, he heard the aforementioned boy's humorous giggle and felt him slip off of Riku's quickly heating body. Nothing had happened but he felt so…

Violated.

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Sora stared down at Riku, hoping to get him to laugh with his suggestive motion. But Riku just stared.

Sora's smile wavered a bit, but he kept it in place and tilted his head. It was like Riku was watching him, but in an unseeing manner. He could probably dangle spit over his face and Riku would just watch straight ahead, not even noticing.

Sora sighed. _Now_ who was daydreaming? But… what was he thinking _about_? His grin widened. Maybe he was thinking about _his_ dad. Sora laughed. That's highly unlikely. Riku _had_ a dad, and he lived with Riku and Riku's mother, right across the street from Sora's house.

He didn't know what was going on in Riku's head, like Riku always knew what was happening in Sora's, but he could tell Riku would much rather continue daydreaming than play a game with Sora. So he shifted his weight off of him, and stood. And Riku called _him_ a dork.

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Riku felt like panting, his lungs felt as though they were cramped. He needed air. But where else to get air than outside? Stupid.

He slowly turned his head to meet Sora's eyes. Riku gulped. Sora was smirking. Did he notice anything? Did Riku make any involuntary noises or did his…

Riku's head shot up and looked down at his lower region, expecting to see something that was thankfully not there. He let out a breath of relief and let his head fall back to the sand, eyes closed.

Only when he felt a tickling sensation on his chin, did he open his eyes. Yes, they opened. But they widened when they saw what the sensation _was_.

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Sora watched in confusion when Riku's head pushed itself off the sand to look at something in the distance. Sora raised an eyebrow. The waves maybe?

But he looked immensely relieved when he lowered his head again. How strange. Was Riku feeling okay? Maybe Sora hurt him when he pounced.

He frowned in concern and kneeled in front of the laying boy. Not even bothering to hold his hair from flowing everywhere, he leaned over Riku, eyes above closed eyes.

Sora almost screamed when those eyes suddenly opened and widened. But he _did_ scream when Riku's hard head rammed up into his as he sat up.

"Shit!"

"What was that for, Riku!?" Sora rubbed his forehead feverishly, willing the pain to subside.

Riku was doing the same. What was Sora thinking? Leaning over him like that. That's enough to scare even his father.

Sora glared at his older friend. "What were you doing, anyway? I try to have some fun and you go drifting off to dreamland. If you ask me, _you're_ the one with the one track mind, Riku!"

Riku sat with his back facing Sora. Shut up, just shut up. That's what he wanted to shout at Sora so badly, but he couldn't.

"And another thing! If you've got something to say, say it! You're tense, don't think I can't tell."

Riku was surprised again. Sora almost read his mind. What was going on with him? First the boldness, then the understanding? There was something strange going on with one of them. Maybe Riku was getting to be more predictable, or maybe it was just that he'd been rubbing off on Sora so now he was more like Riku.

Riku's face flamed at the though. Rubbing off on Sora? "Don't get so literal you idiot…!" He rested his head in his hands.

Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.

Over and over again, like a mantra.

"Riku!? I'm talking to you!"

"Damn it, Sora!" He spun around on the sand to face him. "You're like a girl, ya know that!? Always pestering me with your stupid problems and worries. Stop it with the nagging!"

Sora's eyes widened and he glowered at him, his lips forming a taut line. "Know what? Fine. Just forget I said anything. You sit here and brood all you want. I'm goin' home!" With that, he stood from his perch upon the beach behind Riku's blazing glare and marched off home.

Riku's eyes immediately softened. He sighed and collapsed on the now wet with waves ground. "Sora… what's wrong with me?"

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What's wrong with him!? "Him and his stupid drama… always something wrong… see if I care…" He continued mumbling as he walked through the door and past the kitchen, where his mother stood at the oven, cooking and singing the night away.

"Oh, Sora! You're back! How was…your… Sora?"

He slammed his bedroom door and jumped on his bed, burying his face deep into his pillow. That Riku. Something's wrong with him. Riku's mind had never wandered around Sora before, he was always right on track and usually was the one to snap _Sora_ out of his reverie. But now, it was the other way. And Riku didn't seem too happy about it either.

And what did he mean, so like a girl!? Sora fumed. He was _not_ a girl. He did _not_ nag.

"Honey?" Came a sweet voice from the doorway.

Sora sighed. Why didn't he lock the door behind him?

She sat on his bed and rested her hand gently on his back. "Sora, what's wrong? Did something happen?" She increased the patting she was giving to him. "Did those boys pick on you again? Oh, wait until I tell their mothers. Those no-good, little brats. Why pick on my baby boy? He's sweet, and charming, and ooh… I'm gonna have to teach them a thing or two."

Sora smiled into the pillow, turning his head slightly to get a look at his spaced-out, plotting mother.

She gasped and her eyes lit up. "Oh I know, I'll invite them over and tease _them_. Won't that be fun, Sora?"

She of course didn't wait for his reply, and continued, "Oh, but we can't let Riku's mother find out. She'd hate me for doing such a thing. But you know what, it's worth it. Those boys need a good spank on their backsides, even if it's with just words!"

She frowned again. "How dare they, though!? Oh, I outta…"

Sora chuckled. Now that he'd blown off some steam from listening to his mother's ramblings, he felt better. "Mom, hey."

"…and then I'll take the…"

"Mom, really, it's okay."

"…we'll see if they ever…"

"_Mom_!"

She blinked a few times and looked at him strangely. "What honey, can't you see I'm busy? And you're not really helping, Sora."

"Mom, it's okay." He laughed. "Nothing happened, I just got into a fight with Riku, that's all."

She immediately brightened. "Oh! Well in that case," She kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be making dinner, be downstairs in ten minutes, love."

Sora gaped. What…?

"H-hey! Wait…"

She turned at the door and beamed at him. "Yes?"

"Aren't you… gonna comfort me about it? You know, tell me 'it'll be okay, honey', and 'it's just a momentary thing, you two'll be back on friendly terms with each other before you know it'?

His mother gave a gentle laugh. "Well there's no need to now, is there? Ten minutes." And she shut the door behind her.

Sora stared at the door. He sighed. This was his mother.

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Riku started in his sleep to find himself still on the beach, almost covered with water.

Great. He slept into the high tide.

Heaving a long sigh, he sat up and drained the seawater from his hair, jumping up as he felt something wiggle against his thigh. "What the… !?"

With a shake of his hips, a small fish wriggled it's way out of his pants and flopped about on the shore, carried away suddenly by another wave.

Riku ran a hand through his drenched hair and looked up at the moon. What time was it?

He scratched the back of his neck and trudged toward his house, though not as tired anymore.

He walked up the stairs of the deck and rounded the tree, passing the warm house of Selphie. Selphie's house was small, seeing as she lived there with her mother and father and no siblings. It was a pale orange color, with flowers of many varieties out front. In the yard just behind the white picket fence of the Tilmitts, there was a barrel of jump ropes. How predictable.

The next house along his way was Wakka's, Riku could even hear the snoring coming from the round bedroom window on the second floor. His house was a light yellow, and about the size of Selphie's, though Wakka only lived with his father. In the front there stood a tall sign with the words, "Go Besaid Aurochs" in big orange letters.

Finally, he arrived at his own home. His was white, plain. His father liked it that way. It was large, much larger than both Selphie's and Wakka's combined. The front yard was plain too. No signs, no barrels of anything, no flowers. It was grass, _just_ grass. And a nice stone sidewalk leading to the door. Ugh… how depressing.

His eyes widened a fraction as he searched his pockets for a key that wasn't there, then his back pockets. In panic, he realized he must have dropped the key back at the beach. But there was no way it would still be there after how strong the waves had gotten. He rolled his head back, gripping his face in his hands to muffle the frustrated moan he emitted.

What a way to end the day. Or if it was already morning, what a way to _start_ the day.

Standing up straight and peeking through his slightly open fingers at the house across from his, his heart lurched pleasantly. He could go see Sora… Riku could go apologize, and maybe spend the night. God knew he needed a shower too.

Riku nodded to himself and took a deep breath. He'd just go to Sora's house, even _if_ his parents could simply unlock the door if Riku bothered to knock.

Sora's house was one of the smaller ones in their little cul-de-sac, which housed Sora, Riku, Tidus, and Seifer. It wasn't white like Riku's, but pale blue. Also unlike Riku's house, it _had_ flowers and trees. And in the back, Riku knew there was a tall willow right in the center, the one he and Sora had climbed as kids. With a ghost of a smile on his face, Riku stepped up to the door and tried to open it, hoping it would be unlocked.

It wasn't.

He didn't want to wake everyone up, especially Kanoko, Sora's mother. She didn't get enough sleep as it was.

But despite his thoughts of how selfish it would be to wake them, he held his breath and knock silently.

Nothing.

His hand came and inch from the door, ready to knock yet again, but he changed his mind. Looking up at the tree near Sora's window, Riku grinned. He could climb up there and pray that the window was open. If it wasn't, then he'd just go home and talk to Sora tomorrow. The thought made his spirits dishearten instantly.

"Here I go." And he hefted himself onto the first branch, using his feet to walk up to the branch parallel from the one he hung on to.

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Sora turned lazily in his bed, smacking his lips together as he nuzzled into his pillow tiredly.

He didn't even notice the silver-haired, aqua-eyed boy hanging desperately off the top branch with one hand pecking frantically at his window.

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Outside, Riku panicked. He was sure that if Sora didn't wake up now and let him in, he'd either stay out there until his hands grew numb and could no longer hold on, or he would peck away until the single hand slipped from the branch. Either choice involved falling, and possibly a trip to the hospital in the morning when they found his crumpled body laying across Kanoko's dainty tulips.

With a final slam against the window, Riku decided upon the former choice of holding on until he couldn't anymore. It at least let him have a few more moments with his body fully intact and all bones in the right spot.

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Sora jolted at this though, much to Riku's gratitude and happiness.

Tired and still half asleep, Sora searched the room quickly, almost laying down again after seeing nothing wrong, before seeing Riku hanging outside his window.

He held in his scream at the shock of the sight and rushed to the window, trying to unlock it with trembling hands.

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Outside, soft pattering ensued. Riku shuddered. Great. He fell asleep on the beach, and got sandy and wet. Now it was raining, and he was cold, though not sandy, but _still_ wet. He gasped and looked up at his fingers when he felt them begin to slip.

Curse Sora's tree and it's smooth branches.

He snapped his attention to Sora, who was fiddling with the lock on the window and shooting Riku desperate looks. Riku's eyes pleaded with his. He saw Sora return his gaze, but with a more hopeful air. Riku clenched his eyes shut, even after his hand slipped further.

Opening then just to see how far Sora had gotten, he noticed just was Sora was _wearing_. Riku flushed. He'd seen him in nothing more than his boxers before, but now… now it was almost unbearable to look. Sora's skin was so smooth. Riku felt the urge to reach out and-

Stop it! This was a life or… shortened life moment, and Riku was thinking about Sora's body!

He could feel the rain fall harder, and felt one of his hands come close to losing their complete grip. Riku pursed his lips and quickly shifted his grasp on the branch, but though he fixed the hold on one hand, the _other_ slipped off, bringing more weight onto the single hand that held on tightly, until finally, Riku's fingers couldn't take it any longer. He was falling.

"_Riku_!"

He was safe. He didn't fall! Riku looked gratefully up at Sora's fearful face and then lowered it to where Sora held onto his wrist.

Sora saved him.

Riku swung his other arm up to grab Sora's own wrist and felt Sora tug. He helped, climbing up the wall of Sora's house with his legs.

It would have been much easier to just wake his parents up.

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"Riku! What were you… why are you… I'm gonna kill you!" Sora shoved him at the still opened window.

Riku caught himself and panted. "Calm down, Sora, if you push me out the window then that scratch on your ribs would be for nothing." He motioned with his head.

Sora looked down at where Riku pointed. There was a fairly long, diagonal cut, about two inches, right above where his ribs ended. It was bleeding still.

Sora sighed and fell back on the bed. What just happened?

A stinging pain shot through his chest as Sora felt something dab at his cut. He hissed.

"Calm down, ya baby. I'm just cleaning it."

Sora turned away, letting him do as he pleased. "Just go easy on it."

Riku grunted. "What are you, three?"

Sora stared pointedly at him. "No, I'm a _girl_. You should go easy on _girls_."

Riku stopped and stared at him apologetically. Oh. Right. Riku's little outburst at the beach earlier. He returned his attention to the scratch on Sora's chest, brushing it lightly with his wet shirt.

It was dirty, he remembered, and immediately stopped. "Hey, Sora, you got any antiseptic or something?"

Sora didn't look at him. "No, we're out." He replied coldly.

Riku winced as he took a closer look.

Sora could feel the boy's breath on his skin and started to lean back, gasping when Riku's hand snaked around his waist and pulled him closer.

"Stay still, I'm trying to see if it's okay."

Sora just nodded awkwardly.

For Riku, it was _not_ awkward, but _frustrating_. He had his hands on Sora's bare back, his oh-so _warm_ and _smooth _back. And he was only inches away from his chest. Riku's heart pounded in his chest. He wanted it to stop, but he couldn't. He wanted to lean in and-

But he couldn't. No, he _wouldn't_. Oh, but he wanted to! But he shouldn't. So he didn't.

He leaned away and walked out of Sora's bedroom.

Sora sat in his bed, somewhat confused. What was going on with Riku? Again with the daydreaming. He was no doctor, but he knew that a little cut like this didn't require any _looking_ at.

He sighed.

Seems as if Sora would never really understand the enigma that was Riku.

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Riku stood above the bathroom sink, willing his body to relax, but it couldn't. He had touched Sora before, hugged him, slept near him, even swam with him in the ocean, but now, there was something wrong. How could someone wake up one day and suddenly feel differently for his best friend?

Shaking his head of any indecent thoughts he may possess, he grabbed a towel and wet it with hot water. Riku took a final glance in the mirror at himself before leaving. He looked like hell. No, _worse_.

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Sora swung his legs back and forth, staring at a certain point on the ground so as not to fall asleep. His eyelids were heavy, and even blinking would force him to surrender to the sandman's sweet promises of the pleasures that awaited him in his dreams.

But no.

He had a goal tonight. And that was to make Riku apologize and to give said boy a good piece of his mind.

Sora yawned. "That's what I'll do."

"What'll you do?" Riku's deep voice radiated through the room, snapping Sora from his thoughts.

"Nothing."

Riku frowned again, so Sora was _still_ mad. He kneeled in front of Sora who sat atop his bed and pressed the hot towel to his cut.

Sora flinched at the heat, but relaxed a short moment later.

This was it. For the next ten minutes, all that went on between the two was… nothing. Riku cleaned and searched for a bandage, while Sora contemplated on Riku's behavior.

Quite, quiet night.

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Tell him.

No.

Yell at him.

No.

Do something!

Sora fought with his mind for a while, not knowing what to do. There was never tension between them like there was now. But up until now, Riku had always been the first to talk, never Sora.

He opened his mouth, ready for an argument, but the voice and words that were heard around the bedroom were not his.

"I'm sorry."

"Eh?" Sora looked up at Riku, who now stood at the window, watching the rain fall.

"I'm sorry… you know, for calling you a girl."

Sora looked down at his lap. "And for yelling at me."

"And for yelling at you."

Sora heard the smile in his voice, and let a small smile grace his features as well. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been leaning over you like that. It was stupid."

"Yeah, it was."

Sora felt a familiar pout take place of the smile.

Riku seemed to know it was coming too, for he came and sat next to Sora on his bed, leaning his head on the younger boy's shoulder.

Sora tensed slightly, but relaxed and patted Riku's head awkwardly.

"Guess what?"

"Hmm?"

"It did flood, like I said it would."

Sora smiled, then laughed. "Yeah, guess I tried something new after all." He stopped grinning abruptly as he felt Riku nuzzle into his neck. Sora tensed yet again, flushing at the sudden contact. Riku was going crazy, Sora had to make a mental note to call the doctor over tomorrow.

What surprised him now, was how tense Riku's body became all of a sudden. For a minute or so, Riku almost stopped breathing. Sora noticed how his fists clenched and unclenched quietly, as if Riku was fighting something inside of him. Was he in pain?

An arm trailed its way up Sora's chest and around his neck, pulling him closer to the silver-haired boy.

And he went rigid.

There was _definitely_ something wrong with Riku. He'd never been this… _affectionate_ before.

"Can I take a shower?"

"U-umm… yeah." He breathed, relieved when Riku's too-close-for-comfort body moved away from him and out of the room.

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He moved to sit by the boy, not really caring if he was wet or not. His head felt heavy, and without thinking, he rested it on Sora's shoulder, savoring the warmth,

They talked, but Riku hardly paid attention to what they spoke of. He unconsciously leaned in closer, shifting his head so that his nose and forehead pressed against Sora's neck. God, he smelled good.

He froze. Not again. If he were younger, he swore he would have cried. He hated not knowing what was happening around him, especially if it pertained to him. Even if it was a petty little thing, he'd _need_ to know. But this. This wasn't in any way _small_. This was _big_ thing.

Why did he suddenly feel like this around Sora? Why did he _look_ at him now? What was so special about his best friend that Riku found himself moving closer to him, _smelling_ him?

He couldn't take it. He didn't like it. He hated the way he felt. Despondent. As if nothing would ever brighten up again. But at the same time, he felt pleasure beyond belief in Sora's company.

But _why_?

He didn't give a damn _how_ he felt. He just wanted to know _why_ he felt it!

Riku's eyes shot open, staring at the darkness of Sora's neck. What if… what if he was acting this way because he felt… _attracted_ to Sora?

No way.

No _goddamn_ way.

No…

Sora was a guy, and so was Riku. What would his dad say? No. He'd say nothing, because Riku felt nothing but friendly love for the boy. That was it.

No attraction whatsoever.

None.

His heart skipped a beat as his hand skimmed Sora's stomach and wound itself around his neck, pulling him even closer to Riku.

Oh god, why didn't his body listen to him?

Another heartbeat missed as Riku's brain gave him a simple answer.

You like him.

Riku couldn't breathe.

"Can I take a shower?" He needed to get out, he needed alone time to think.

"U-umm… yeah."

And with that, he pulled himself away from Sora's sweet-smelling body and headed for the bathroom.

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Hurray! Finally I have begun. Yes, I know what you're thinking. 'Stupid Dragon, what's she thinking starting _another_ story when she still has four others she's still not done with!?' Yes, well, the answer's quite simple. 'quiche-me' requested this story and so I agreed to it. It was originally meant to be a one-shot, but since that's both physically and mentally impossible for me, I made it so that it suited my tastes more… since I _am_ the author. So, you can thank her (I'm only assuming you're a girl, sorry again if I'm wrong) if you end up liking/loving this story.

Oh, and as you may have realized, Sora and Riku have never been off the island. This is as if the thing with the Keyblade and Ansem never happened in the first place. Keep in mind though, the characters are still all there, even Ansem maybe, but there's no adventure they went on.

Finally, _Kanoko_ means 'fawn'. I figured that since Sora's mom was so childish, she may as well be innocent like a fawn as well.

Reviews would be great! Some support too, since this _is_ my first yaoi story after all. lol.

Dragon


	2. Early Morning Conversations

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I'd be rich, wealthy, and would be publishing books instead of updating fanfiction.**

**Yet another chapter of Vicissitude. Wonderful, eh? I don't know what it is that's made me update this story so soon… maybe it's the reviews. Seriously, everyone's reviews made my heart swell with happiness! So here you are; chapter 2. **

**Oh, and by the way, visit my profile if you wish to see the definition of the title.**

**Now, on with the story!**

**WARNING: This is kind of a boring chapter, IMO. All that goes on is their "sleepover". Well, I suppose there's a pretty steamy scene a little later on. lol.**

----------

**Chapter 1 - Denial is only the First Step**

Riku couldn't breathe.

"Can I take a shower?" He needed to get out, he needed alone time to think.

"U-umm… yeah."

And with that, he pulled himself away from Sora's sweet-smelling body and headed for the bathroom.

----------

**Chapter 2 - Early Morning Conversations**

Over and over again. Pull back, push in; pull back, push in. It was quiet ramming, but still the type of slamming your head into shower tiles that would give anyone a headache if done for hours at a time.

Riku didn't care about the pain though, he just wanted to forget all about these nasty things he was feeling for Sora. And if that meant developing brain tumor through the course of it, then he'd just have to live with that.

Too bad the pitiful tapping his head was doing against the wall wasn't even hard enough to make noise through the lightly running water. If only Kanoko wasn't asleep. Then Riku and the wall would've had some full-on headbutting!

Riku heaved a sigh. Why was this so hard? He thought tough problems only occurred after college! It was the summer _before_ college for him, and he was already confused beyond normal means. Well, that's what he got for living with his father. Of course he'd grow up much sooner than everyone else.

Riku's father was a genius. Really. He completed high school at the age of 15, then graduated college after only two years. After that, he was one hundred percent ready to take on whatever life threw at him.

Riku, however, couldn't be more different.

His dad was strict, boring, quiet. Riku was laidback, always looking for excitement, and loud as hell. It was amazing that the two could even stand to be on the same _island_ together, much less eat at the same dinner table.

But that was beside the point; the point was, Riku couldn't be around Sora without his heart threatening to jump out of his chest.

As the warm water slid down Riku's skin, he felt goosebumps arise. Why was it that he'd been thinking of Sora so much. He refused to believe it was something to do with _attraction_.

Definitely not.

But what then? Oh god, maybe Riku was so love deprived, that his body was taking it out on Sora!

How pathetic he was.

No wait, Sora did look somewhat like a girl. Maybe Riku's eyesight was going bad and he was imagining seeing a female in front of him rather than his childhood _male_ friend!

Yes, that must be it.

He sighed. No, that was the farthest thing from it.

Riku groaned as he lathered his hair. As his fingers brushed his scalp and gently massaged his skin as the foam built up, his eyes fluttered closed, and he envisioned the same half-naked Sora who he was cuddling against just moments ago. Sora; washing his hair for him; running his slender fingers through Riku's silver locks and down his neck, across his chest and down to his stom-

No!

Riku opened his eyes and threw himself from beneath the running water. No, bad thoughts. _Terrible_ thoughts. How horrid of a friend was he? Thinking such inappropriate nonsense about Sora.

This wasn't fair! Why was it that _he_ had to feel like this. If Sora did, it would be… well, it'd be alright. Because as far as he knew, Sora never kept a secret from him, no matter _how_ revolting, embarrassing, or annoying. So Sora would tell him exactly how he was feeling and Riku would tell him what his diagnosis was.

Of course, thinking about it like that made him think even more thoroughly into it. If Sora was the one with the problem, and he told Riku, Riku would have felt uncomfortable, for it would've seemed like Sora _liked_ him… _much_ more than a friend should like their best friend.

No, he thought again. Sora was just a friend. And nothing more. But why, then, did it feel like he was…

Riku shut the water off and shook his head, turning the handle to make sure no dripping occurred in the late hours of the night… or morning, whichever it was.

Reaching out for the towel, he felt his footing give and grabbed onto the curtain. It only made things worse when the rings unclasped from the bar that held the fabric up.

----------

Sora was still tense. Sure, Riku and he'd hugged before, they'd played games that involved a lot of touching. For example, wresting at the beach. But Riku _never_ reacted like that.

He felt his face heat up at the thought. What had gotten into him?

Sora let his gaze wander to his alarm clock.

2:14 a.m.

No way.

Sora fought back an irked groan and laid back on the bed. All he had to do was calm down before he walked right into that bathroom and smacked the living daylights out of Riku for waking him up this early.

Of course, that was only his pride talking. Sora knew that he wouldn't be able to lay a finger on Riku. Not that he couldn't, just… he wouldn't. Sora didn't like violence too much. Probably the aftereffect of being raised by his dear mother. She was violent enough for both of them… in her own little way.

He sighed in a kind of happy-but-depressed way. He was proud of his mom. After what happened with his dad, she was a strong, cheery woman rather than a martyr. And she never once spoke of his father with malice in her tone. Well, she never spoke of him period.

But that suited his tastes fine, since it wasn't like he and his dad never conversed or anything. Sora got letters and gifts; secretly though. If his mom found out, it'd be the death of him…

Sora grunted and rolled over to his side, chills running across his body. His eyes widened as he noticed the cause of his shiver was the cold rain still pouring outside and into his room.

Almost a groan escaped him as he stood and plodded toward the still open window, but instead he evoked a gasp as he heard a crash echo through the bathroom and hallway.

Oh no.

----------

Riku snapped his head to the doorway as Sora came bursting through.

"Riku! What happened?" His eyes searched frantically across the room, then across Riku's body for any gaping wounds.

Riku blushed noticeably under his gaze, but shifted to hide everything from Sora; his face, his lower body.

His skin felt hot, and it tingled at the thought of Sora's eyes wandering across every inch of it. He bit back any noise when Sora reached over and placed his hands on his shoulders, a worried look on his boyish face.

"I-I'm fine. Really. Just slipped, that's all."

Sora frowned. "You almost woke the entire house up, you… you…"

"'You' what? And just so you know, the entire house is your mother. There's no one else here." He smirked uneasily, his mind never once allowing it to slip from his memory that he was still naked and Sora was… _almost_ nude as well.

"You idiot…" He grumbled, suddenly at a lost for words. What else _could_ he say? It was all done with now, and there was no point in getting mad at something that already happened, and accidentally too.

He sighed. "Mom's gonna kill me for this. These were new curtains and she loved 'em." He scratched the back of his neck anxiously.

Riku sat up and used said fabric to cover up his body as well as he could. "Just tell her I did it."

Sora snorted, which brought on an amused façade on Riku's part. "You kidding? Mom loves you. You could burn the house and she'd spend all her money paying for unneeded hospital bills instead of fixing the place up." Sora shook his head. "It's just not possible for her to be mad at you. Sometimes I envy you, Riku." He grinned jokingly.

Riku rolled his eyes and smacked Sora's leg. "Yeah, yeah. Now ya mind? I'd kinda like to get dressed. Unless you _want_ me naked tonight." He winked playfully at Sora, but half of him meant it.

Sora laughed aloud. "Yeah, why not? We used to when we were kids, remember?"

Riku ignored the agreement. He sadly knew Sora didn't really mean it. "How could I forget. It was your fault most of the time though." He chuckled.

Sora glared halfheartedly. "Whaddaya mean _my fault_!? _You_ were the one who always made us do stupid things!"

Riku held up a finger as if emphasizing his point. "_But_, if you agreed to do those stupid things _with_ me, then I wouldn't have had to drag you along by force."

Sora crossed his arms over his chest at looked away, pout set in place.

"Like that one time. Remember the island's first snow? Back when we were seven, I think?"

"Six." He interjected. "You were six. I was five" His anger was slowly dissipating as he listened to another story from the 'good ol' days'.

Riku couldn't help the grin that spread on his face. "Right. Anyway," he stared unconsciously at the younger boy's abdomen. He noticed how his boxers were low on his hips; _very_ low.

Licking his lips, he continued with his tale. "It was at least a good six or eight inches of snow that day, and I wanted to go sledding up on Churik Hill. But you were scared of heights." He smirked, knowing that Sora still was somewhat uncomfortable with high places. The cringe that Sora gave as he said the name of the hill was proof, too. "You almost _cried_ when I-"

"I didn't _cry_!" Sora was red-faced in anger and embarrassment.

"Oh _sure_. Your eyes were just sensitive to the cold, right?"

"Right." He mumbled.

Riku laughed again. Sora was so cute. He paused mid-laugh.

Don't go thinking indecent things again.

"Yeah, I pulled you up there and if you'd have just cooperated with me in the first place, we wouldn't have played tug-a-war with the sled and gone rolling down the hill without it in the end." He laughed merrily. "Oh man, we stayed inside for a week! We were so sick. By the time we got back outside, it was a tropical paradise again."

Sora felt a smile tug at his lips and gave in. "Hey Riku?"

He looked up at the beautiful boy. "Yeah?"

"You think it'll ever snow again here?"

Riku looked down at his fingers, which now curled around the bath curtain. "I dunno, Sora. Maybe. But I wouldn't get your hopes up. You know what happened that _last_ time you did." Sending Sora a final wink, he stood and ushered him out of the bathroom, loving the feel of his silky skin under his hands.

----------

Sora blinked as the door was shut in his face gently. Then blushed.

Last time he hoped for something he nearly embarrassed himself in front of _everyone_ just to get what he wanted. There was no way he'd relive that moment.

Thinking to himself again, he remembered the yet-to-be-closed window in his bedroom and ran into it.

----------

Riku leaned back against the door, still smiling. What was that feeling he got when he touched Sora; when Sora touched him?

Riku knew one thing for sure. He'd have to be more careful. Encounters like those were much too risqué to be taken lightly.

With a sigh, he dropped the curtain and picked up the unused towel, dabbing it across his skin and rubbing it into his hair. Riku grimaced as he dropped it to the floor. He looked like a wet dog.

Shrugging, he searched the bathroom for his clothes, only to come to realize that he hadn't brought any with him.

Oh for the love of all thing fair, _why him_!?

Quietly, he opened the door a crack, and skimmed the dark hallway for any sign of life.

Nothing.

He tiptoed out the door and into Sora's room, with only a towel to keep him from being completely exposed.

"Sora?"

A body stirred on the bed and Riku grinned. He couldn't even stay awake for a few minutes.

"Riku?" Sora yawned.

Riku's smile broadened. "Yeah, I, uh, need some clothes."

Sora rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood. "Yeah, I thought so. It's hot tonight so you don't need much, do you?"

Riku shook his head. "Even if it was cold out, I still couldn't wear much of your stuff. You're so scrawny." He laughed.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Watch it, I pulled you out of that window and I can push you back out."

Riku wagged a finger at him. "Already tried that." He sang, amused.

It was Sora's turn to laugh. Maybe Riku was better, all he needed was a nice shower to knock some sense back into him.

This thought brightened Sora up immensely.

"Here," He held out a pair of black and gray boxers. "These are pretty big on me, so they'll fit."

Riku blushed lightly, then scolded himself for doing so. Thankfully it was dark and Sora wouldn't be able to notice.

"Thanks." He took it and looked at Sora implying he wanted privacy. Why, he didn't know. Before they'd shower together at school practices. Now, he couldn't even bear to be in a towel in front of the guy, much less put on some underwear.

Sora presumably got the hint and turned around, staring out the window.

"What's on your mind?"

Sora's sigh melted into a smile. "You tell me. You always seem to know everything about me."

Riku returned his expression and stood behind him, pressing his bare body against Sora's, ignoring how the younger boy tensed up.

"Me?" He whispered into his ear. Riku loved the way Sora's skin felt on his, and now he was _pressing_ their bodies together. He wanted to stop, but couldn't.

Sora shifted nervously in his place. "Riku…?"

He moved away, hesitantly though. "Just kidding. Sheesh Sora, you get so worked up over nothing." The last word came out kind of breathy. Maybe it was because, to Riku, it wasn't _nothing_.

Sora nodded awkwardly. "Yeah. So, ready to hit the sack?"

Riku jumped under the covers of Sora's bed, and scooted over to make room.

Sora almost laughed. Riku looked so happy there, and… was that hope in his eyes? For what, Sora pondered.

He had to admit, he felt rather weird about getting into the same bed as Riku, both clad in nothing but their undergarments. He shook his head of the thoughts. No. This was okay, they've done it millions of times before. So now, he'd just get into bed and sleep beside his best friend like he'd always done. There was nothing different this time.

Or so he thought.

Riku watched as Sora climbed into the bed next to him.

This would be a long night for sure.

----------

Silence. For what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes, all there was, was silence. Neither spoke a word, neither made a sound, neither shifted their positions.

"Hey Sora?"

The blissfully quiet atmosphere was finally broken.

"Yeah?"

"Remember when you were twelve, and you were _so_ jealous of me kissing Kairi, that you swore to practice so that when you got your chance, she'd think you were a better kisser than me? The next day I caught you giving your first kiss to a lampshade." He laughed aloud. "I've got no clue why all these memories are coming back to me just now. I mean, we've had, what, seventeen years together to re-"

But the room was once again drowned in silence after Sora introduced Riku to his pillow, face-to-fluff.

"Night to you too." Riku smiled. But it became somewhat apprehensive.

This was nice. He was in a warm bed, had taken a refreshing shower, and Sora forgave him and lay next to him in the confinement of his bedroom.

He flipped over onto his side, sudden shivers running up and down his spine as his back grazed Sora's warm arm.

Riku let out a shaky sigh.

So he had lied to himself when he said it was nice. He had forced himself to leave out the tiny fact that his body was burning up at how close he and Sora were. He left out how his mind was reeling and almost incapable of coherent thought now that he and sore were within a foot of each other, both almost completely undressed. He had left out that, at that moment, he wished to be anywhere else but there, but at the same time couldn't think of any other place he'd rather have been. Damn him and his ambivalent mind.

Riku felt his face heat up yet again and attempted to clear his thoughts by closing his eyes.

Sora's lips came into view. His lips _did_ look soft. And they were _virgin_ lips. Never once been kissed.

Riku was shifting furiously in the bed. He needed to calm down. But Sora's lips kept popping up inside his head, almost beckoning him to turn and take them with his own.

God, why was life so difficult? For him especially.

Riku had no choice. If he didn't turn around, just to at least _watch_ Sora sleep, he'd never get any sleep of his own. Slowly he turned around, almost gasping as two blazing blue orbs watched him with a frustrated glare.

He was so _close_.

"What?" He asked, and quite meekly at that.

Sora huffed. "You okay? You've been tossing and turning the entire time. Did that fall in the bathroom do something to you?"

Riku looked away from his scrutinizing gaze. "Uh, no. I just… can't sleep."

He heard Sora sigh, and thought maybe it was okay to look up now.

Should've stayed down.

Sora looked… _luscious_. Riku stared in awe. Sora faced the ceiling, the moonlight caressing his features through his window, outlining his lips in the most seductive way.

"Just count sheep or something…"

Yeah right. "Like that would work." He snorted.

Sora stared at him at the noise, a smile tugging at his lips. "Do you _have_ to be so negative?"

Riku laughed softly. "Yeah."

Sora shook his head. "Whatever suits you."

Riku sighed, seeing Sora's eyes close. Oh how he wanted to touch him. But he knew he couldn't. Riku knew that if he even _tried_ to touch Sora inappropriately, Sora wouldn't have a clue what to do. And he'd think it was wrong beyond reason. He was like that.

Riku sighed. Then something sparked inside him and made him smirk. Wait… if Sora was such a pure little thing, then what was up with those magazines?

Riku sat up silently, ignoring Sora's raised eyebrow and questioning looks. It wasn't until he leaned fully over the bed as if to get something from underneath it, that Sora began clawing at his back.

"Riku! H-hey! What're you doing!? I-I.. I can explain, it was…"

Riku turned to him, holding a stack of magazines in his hands. The pile of about 15 was held together with a blue string of yarn. "No excuses this time, kid. Talk."

His smirk grew even wider as Sora's eyes widened and his cheeks flamed a deep scarlet color. "R-Riku, please, I-"

"What are begging for? All I want is the truth."

Sora fiddled with the comforter and pulled at the seams, almost ripping it. Then he dropped it. "Riku, don't-"

"I'm not dropping this, Sora. Just tell me." Riku laughed. "You know, I figured a lot of guys would have things like this but _you_? Never in a million years could I have imagined _you_ had 'em!"

"I don't see what's so funny." Sora looked away, he just had to think up a cogent answer. And fast. His blush was trailing down to his chest.

And Riku definitely took notice. The light pink tint on Sora's tan chest made him all the more irresistible. But he scolded himself again for being so perverse.

"What's _funny_, is that a guy like you-"

"A guy like me? What do you mean '_a guy like me'_!?" Sora snapped.

Riku held his hands up in mock defense. "Nothing, nothing. It's just that, that time when the shower wall in the locker room had a hole in it, all the guys crowded around to peek into the girls' shower. All the guys 'cept you. So you having these books is _weird_." He pointed, winking.

Sora rolled his eyes, the blush increasing. "I was a kid, for god's sake."

"Uh huh, a kid. It was three months ago." Riku smirked, finally broaching Sora's bubble.

"Okay fine! You wanna know why I have the magazines, I'll tell you!"

Riku propped himself up on his knees and leaned in, eager to hear.

"My dad sent them. I don't know where from, but he did. On every holiday he sends them, even birthdays. It's not exactly heaven in a box for me when I get it, but it's all I get from him. Maybe even sometimes a letter."

Riku cocked his head to the side. "Then… why'd you go and make me think it was something more… I dunno, _dirty_? Your dad sending it doesn't seem too bad, I don't see why you'd try to keep it from me." Riku said, his confusion obvious.

Sora shrugged. "I don't know. I just didn't want you thinking my dad was some kind of pervert. He's not. He just, thinking I like these things. I _really_ don't."

Riku nodded, understanding how Sora felt about not wanting his dad to be though of differently for certain reasons. After all, Riku too had to protect his dad occasionally when others called him stuck-up and snobbish. Sora just didn't want people going around saying his dad was morbid.

But, what about his last statement? Did he mean he didn't like the dirty magazines or didn't like the pictures in them?

"So, does that mean you don't like girls? Because if you don't, I totally understand. I'm not gonna go and shun you just 'cause you're not straight, Sora. And it makes more sense actually, what with you not looking at the girls in the locker room, not having your first kiss, not-"

"What the _hell _are you talking about!?" Sora gaped at him.

Riku felt a small spark of hope within him burn out. Shaking the thoughts away he leaned back. "I-I thought-"

"I know what you thought, but _why_!?"

"I-"

"No, forget it, you already said why." Sora turned away from Riku and stared out the window.

Just that one comment seemed to deject Sora's mood completely. How could his _best friend_ think that? He didn't think it was _wrong_ to be into guys, definitely not! It was just, Sora wasn't expecting Riku to jump to conclusions so quickly. And it hurt too, since it was Riku who said it. If it had been Kairi, or Tidus, or his _mother_ even, it was nothing compared to how he felt when _Riku_ said things like this. First, Riku called him a girl, now he assumed Sora was gay?

Riku felt his heart pound in his tightly constricting chest, leaving almost no room for breath to escape or blood to run. He felt cold. And ashamed.

Look what he did now. Sora was upset and hurt, and it was all Riku's fault. Because of him, the Sora who never once insulted _him_, or anyone else on that island, for that matter; the Sora who would more likely give up his own soul before seeing the islanders unhappy, seeing _Riku_ unhappy, was the far from being happy himself. He didn't know what to do.

Before Riku could stop himself, he crawled toward the boy and wrapped his arms around his waist as he pressed against his back, both still seated on the bed. The soft, tender skin which belonged to Sora made Riku melt. He relished the feeling. Riku felt Sora's body tense up, and wanted nothing more than to have Sora relax in his embrace.

He leaned his head close to Sora's, his hot breath dancing across his ear. "I'm sorry."

Sora shuddered, feeling the warm air from Riku's apology graze his skin. What was he doing _now_? His eyes were closing without his consent, but Sora wasn't paying attention. His mind was going crazy with possible reasons as to why Riku would be so close.

Maybe… he was just trying to be nice. After all, Riku's never had to comfort him before, so maybe this was all he could think of.

This, however, was not the case for Riku. He was only doing this because his body took control. His eyes studied the soft curve of Sora's ear, the tiny pale hairs on the very tip that moved whenever Riku's breath passed by.

"Sora…" He breathed, his thumb unconsciously rubbing against Sora's side.

Sora held back a gasp as he felt Riku touch him so intimately. Stop it, stop it, _stop it_!

Riku didn't.

"Please?" He was pleading now, he couldn't bear having Sora upset. It wasn't really a big thing, but Riku's mind reacted so extremely to the situation. He _needed_ to comfort his friend.

"R-Riku," Sora's breathing was becoming erratic. Riku's thumb wasn't just rubbing small circles anymore, but now _both_ of Riku's hands had stared to lightly move up and down on his sides, creating a tingling sensation in Sora's belly. "Riku, I-" Sora's eyes widened and his quick breaths came to a halt.

Riku, lost in the pleasure of Sora's body and the way he said his name, dipped down and kissed the sensitive spot just below his ear, letting the touch linger for no more than a second before he pulled back.

Realization hit him immediately. He moved away as if Sora had just burned him, throwing himself at the wall and panting.

Sora slouched and felt his blush return to his cheeks. Oh god… oh _god_! What just happened!?

Riku had… Riku just… _kissed_ him! Not on the lips, but even so…

Sora felt afraid to turn and face him now.

And Riku couldn't blame him. The red tint in his cheeks grew and grew with each passing second. He was becoming more clear on what he had just done. He just kissed Sora.

That was it. All the proof he needed. The only answer that came up in his desperate search. And he could no longer deny what was right in front of him.

He was attracted to Sora.

----------

**Ugh… what tedious work it is to be babysitting half the day, then come home and write, then go back to babysitting, and come back home to finish writing. Well, just be happy that I've finally finished.**

**Anyway, I was overjoyed with the reviews! Thank you all so much! I picked just a few to reply to, but I was very pleased with each review.  
****- Spark of Life - **Thank you for the criticism:) But I'm not quite sure I understand. Transitions between the chapters (you wrote this, but it confused me since there's only one chapter…) or between the sections of the chapter? Please do review again!  
**- Dualism - **I don't know what to say… that was probably one of the best reviews I think I've ever gotten! Thank you very much! I'm flattered that you think so, it means a lot to me. Please, please, _please_ review again?  
**- AngelStarFire Hikarist II **- I'm glad I was able to make him confused. For awhile I thought it'd just seem like he was… I don't know, I'm just happy people caught on. Thanks for the kind words and the review!

**And thanks also to:  
****- **SimplyHated  
**- **Sora-Kins  
**- **Riku-Rocks  
**- **fullblonde alchemist  
**- **hyperactive crazygurl95  
**- **ASKInfinity  
**- **dead edged blade  
**- **crowvii

**Alright, my babbling's over now, please review!  
****Dragon**


	3. Nightmares Bring Us Closer

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts is not owned by me. Kingdom Heart and I… no.**

**Well, it's final's week almost, and here I am, writing the third chapter instead of studying. I must be crazy. lol. Enjoy this chapter everyone, because I personally don't consider it a waste of my time; I actually like it. Oh, and yes, it's still the sleepover. I think this is the last chapter for that though… **

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**Chapter 2 - Early Morning Conversations**

Sora felt afraid to turn and face him now.

And Riku couldn't blame him. The red tint in his cheeks grew and grew with each passing second. He was becoming more clear on what he had just done. He just kissed Sora.

That was it. All the proof he needed. The only answer that came up in his desperate search. And he could no longer deny what was right in front of him.

He was attracted to Sora.

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**Chapter 3 - Nightmares Bring Us Closer**

Sora couldn't turn around. He couldn't bear to face Riku at this moment.

He swallowed the heavy lump in his throat.

Well. This pretty much qualified as a logical reason for Riku's recent behavior.

No, not really… _Logical_ wasn't the right word for it.

How could Riku, handsome as he is, one who could have any girl on the island and probably any girl in the world, kiss _him_, his scrawny best friend? Sora had trouble getting girls all his life! He'd been told he was immature, shy, too thin, and so many other traits that seemed to suck the confidence right out of him.

But now, Riku was _kissing_ him!? And touching, and holding, and-

"Sora…?" Came a breathy, and _very_ wary voice from behind him.

"What." Sora grimaced at his own reply. It was callous and insensitive, and came out as more of a demand than as a question. And he could tell it hurt Riku as well, since he stayed silent for a little while.

"I… Sora I- I'm not-" He sighed and brought his hands up to cover his eyes in his frustration. Why did the world have to spin so damn fast? Riku could have sworn he could feel and see everything moving round and round. "I'm just trying to say that… It's just- Look, I- I don't know what happened, Sora."

Finally. Since when was he one to speak in such a way? He'd always had a way with words before.

Sora shut his eyes tightly. Would any of this ever fade? Or would it just follow him to the depths of his grave? He and Riku might be awkward around each other forever! No… that would never happen. So would it be alright to turn and sneak a quick peek at him? No eye contact was necessary, but Sora felt uncouth just sitting there with his back turned. With a deep breath, he did as his mind told him to.

Riku felt his face darken a crimson color as Sora turned around.

Good god.

The boy looked positively ravishing! The way the moonlight shone on his eyes, lighting them up while the rest of his adorable face remained shadowed in the darkness was divine.

But no, he wouldn't dare think that way now. He understood what happening with him, he knew that he felt something of a higher degree than just friendship for Sora, but he would not let that get in the way of their current relationship. The relationship of which there was none. And that's _exactly_ how it would be.

"I'm sorry, Sora, I really am. I-I don't know what came over me…"

Sora had to forgive him. He could just brood over it later, but now wasn't the time. "It's okay, really." He forced a smile.

And Riku caught it. The energy it took to push that smile to the surface. It hurt him worse than anything else ever could. Hell, he could endure the thousand tortures of the world and still come out better than he felt now.

His body yet again took action for him, which made Riku want nothing more than to chop himself up into little pieces and divide them across the ocean. That way, there'd be nothing left to make him do as he was doing now; as he did a few minutes ago.

Sora couldn't hold back the tiny gasp that he emitted when Riku's warm arms enveloped him, pulling him to his chest. He had to admit it was nice, but only because it was warm. The fact that it was _Riku's_ warmth, made it awkward.

"Sora, _please_? I'm really, really sorry. Okay?"

Sora felt like an idiot as he nodded.

Reluctantly, Riku released him. But it was only for the sake of their friendship that he did. He wanted to prove to Sora that he was back to his old self again. That there was nothing to worry about.

At least, on the outside there wasn't.

Looking at him, those sea-green eyes shining brightly with hope and apology, Sora couldn't help it.

He gave him a wide grin, then laughed and pounced on Riku, sending him falling back onto the bed. It was hard being mad at him, and knowing Riku, it was probably just his brain telling him that the person he was holding was feminine, so it was alright to be affectionate. After all, he did use his mom's shampoo this morning, maybe that was it.

Riku's eyes widened as he did this, but he cringed as his head hit the wall with a loud thump.

Sora's melodious laughter echoed in the room. "Sorry Riku, but you deserved that."

Riku smirked at him, "Really now? And why's that?"

Sora sat up, obviously not realizing he was straddling his male friend. "'cause you gave me a good scare awhile ago. You think I'll just forget and move on?"

Riku snorted. "Well _yeah_. A good friend would."

He beamed at him. "Guess that cancels me out then!"

Riku glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Did he have any clue of their position?

No, just forget it Riku.

But he couldn't.

So he did the next best thing. He smiled to himself, everyone should learn to yawn by will. "I'm tired, can we go to bed now? My arms are kinda sore from all the hanging I did earlier." He ended with a laugh.

Sora laughed softly too, happy to have the old Riku back. "Sure. I'll get mom to take out the splinters tomorrow."

"What splinters? The tree could pass as plastic with how smooth it is. If I get _one_ splinter, I'll be surprised."

Sora shook his head and climbed off of Riku, a light blush appearing on his face. Of course it would; after all that had happened between them, now he was straddling him.

Getting off completely, Sora crawled under the covers and waited for Riku to follow suit.

Riku did. He laid his head on the pillow and brought the cool blankets up over him. It was kind of unpleasant, to be honest. He had just been outside under cold rain, slipped in the shower and spent a good deal of time naked and wet in Sora's breezy house, and now he was laying in a heat-deprived bed in nothing but boxers and wet hair. But Sora's close body provided at least a little bit of heat, so he felt content.

"Riku, you cold?" Sora blinked at him.

Riku had pulled all the covers to his face and buried hid head into the soft pillow. And he didn't even know it.

"Oh, um, no. I'm fine. It's just kinda chilly."

Sora frowned. "I'd give you something else to wear, but mom's pretty much boycotting laundry until I decide to help out with the chores some more."

Riku laughed. That was so like Kanoko. "Then do some extra chores, it's not like it'll kill ya."

Sora scoffed. "How do you know? You've never done a single chore in your life."

Riku grinned proudly. All too true…

"Tell me, have you _ever_ picked up a dirty plate?"

Riku nodded. "As a matter of fact, I have."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "You liar."

Riku winked at him. "I've picked up at least half a dozen dirty plates back when we made mud pies."

Sora stared at him incredulously. All the memories were being brought back tonight, and all were really quite strange. "We were, what, four? How do you remember that far back? I can't even remember what I ate for lunch yesterday!"

Riku let out a merry laugh. "That's only 'cause you've got the memory of a newborn, kid."

Sora scowled. "Don't call me 'kid'."

"I'm older, so that gives me the right to." He smirked.

Sora sighed. There was no use in fighting with him, Riku always made it a joke and lightened the mood. Either that or he'd win.

Riku smiled, knowing that Sora wouldn't push it any further. It was no big deal if he did, but still, Riku didn't feel like talking much anymore. He felt tired.

"G'night Sora."

Sora looked over at him quickly. "Night…"

----------

_Closer. _

_Whatever it was, it was getting closer to Sora. _

_He felt his throat contract, he couldn't breathe. Something was taking away his precious air. And behind him, nearing ever so quickly, was a fear Sora didn't know of, but still struck something deep within him that made him run._

_The path was dark and warm. Unpleasant warmth. And humid. It was like breathing in and out the same air, over and over again. His lungs twisted painfully in his chest, and Sora opened his mouth to scream, to call for anything that could possibly help him. _

_But no sound came out. Nothing._

_He ran; he continued to run fast and far. But it came closer to him with every step. It matched Sora's own pace, occasionally speeding up. _

_He couldn't outrun it, he couldn't breathe. There was no more air. It was hot and frightening. And he was all alone, aside from whatever evil followed him closely._

_In a split second, Sora was falling. The path he'd been following so desperately was no more. And though he could not see where he was falling, he could feel the wind pass him by as he descended. _

----------

Sora shot up in the bed, gasping for air. No time to scream, just _breathe_. He panted and gripped his head in his hands.

Riku awoke as well, a worried expression on his beautiful face as he saw his friend. "Sora?" He whispered, sitting up to gently rub the younger boy's back. "Hey, you okay?"

Sora shook his head. Though the dream may not have been scary overall, he still felt afraid. Just the simple feeling he got in his dream, while running, while _falling_, was enough to make his mind spin with anxiety and fear.

"Another nightmare? Sora, you didn't take your medicine, did you?" Riku's façade slowly turned to one of anger. "You idiot, you _know_ you have to take it every day! How long's it been since you took it!?" He shouted, forgetting completely that Sora was so fragile at the moment and Kanoko was slumbering peacefully in the room just down the hall.

Sora scowled. "I haven't had a nightmare in two weeks, I didn't need it anymore! It's not that such a big deal, Riku!"

Riku leaned in dangerously close. "Tell me, Sora, is this proof that you don't need it or that you do?"

He growled low in his throat. Why was he putting so much pressure on him? Why was he so mad!?

"How long has it been? When's the last time you took your medicine?" Trying to be calm was difficult. Especially since this was the case.

Since about a year ago, Sora had been having nightmares. Frightening ones, from the looks of it. At first, he'd wake up in tears, or would be too scared to go back to sleep. And even if he did, the nightmares always came back. But eventually he learned not to scream or cry or go mad. But it made him a more fearful person. Everything that happened, Sora would be hesitant about. He'd be reluctant about going near strange people, about being alone, and especially about being in the dark.

Although Sora couldn't remember much of what happened in the past like Riku could, he had an uncanny ability to repeat ever dream and nightmare he had up to at least a few hours after he'd had them. Then never sounded scary, to be honest. And not just to Riku, but to Kairi, Tidus, Roxas, and Kanoko too. Everyone thought it was a sad excuse for a bad dream. But it triggered something in Sora that made him act as crazy as he did when he woke up. It scared him, though no one, not even Sora, understood why.

So because of this, a few weeks ago, Kanoko sent Sora to see a doctor. And Riku was the one to go with him. The doctor clearly said to take one every night to slow the section of his brain which produced the dreams from doing so.

And he did.

"Well!?" He pushed, getting agitated. If Sora didn't take his medicine, who knew what those dreams might do to him...

"It's only been a few days!"

Riku panted. "A few days? How much is a few, Sora?"

"A little over a week. That's all…" He mumbled.

Riku understood it quite well. Angry and somber, he laid down, turning his back to Sora.

Sora felt his throat tighten, but this time because he'd made Riku angry. "Riku, I-"

"Good night."

"Riku, _please_, don't be-"

"I said _good night_."

Sora closed his eyes. Another mistake on his part. He sighed. Thank god this day would eventually end, and he wouldn't have to live it over and over again.

He held his breath as he laid down, releasing it as his head hit the pillow.

Oh boy… it was _dark_.

Sora closed his eyes, but felt uneasy. Opening one, he found himself being startled by a menacing shadow on his wall.

Stupid. It's just a tree.

_Why_ didn't he take his medicine? It wouldn't spared him this night of anger and restlessness.

He snapped his head to the window as the branch hit the glass.

Only wind, it's okay, Sora.

He took a deep breath. Why was it so dark? He felt scared again, like he used to. Turning slightly, he looked at Riku.

His eyes widened. Riku was shivering. He was _cold_!

Now that he thought about it, his hair was wet, and he was cold before. It was dry now, but maybe Riku was sick?

A boom of lightning lit the room, scaring Sora half to death. By the time it was over, he was gripping Riku tightly, one hand around his waist, the other aver his chest, pressing his face against his warm, smooth back.

Riku's eyes widened and he gasped. That startled him, needless to say, but it made his heart flip, too.

"Sora?" He heard the said boy whimper in response, and felt all anger he held for him disappear.

So what now? Sora wasn't letting go or loosening his grip, and Riku couldn't deny that it felt wonderful being in his arms. He made up his mind. It would benefit the both of them.

Sora tightened his hold on Riku. He was scared, _very_ scared. Right now, his heart could stop if he was alone. But he wasn't, thankfully.

Sora opened his eyes and blushed, as he realized he was holding his best friend so closely. The blush deepened as Riku turned around in his arms. Sora stared into his aquamarine eyes, oblivious to the fact that he was _still_ holding him. Only when he felt warm arms encircle his waist, did he bring his hands up to push Riku away. "Ri-"

"Shh…" He soothed.

Sora's arms went limp on Riku's chest. Why was he doing this? Wasn't he angry? Talk about mood swings...

He looked down at him. Sora looked adorable, but he was so scared. Riku pulled him closer, wanting to be as near to him as possible.

It was unbelievable how agonizingly wonderful Sora's skin felt aginst his. The warmth the boy emitted would drive anyone to the asylum.

Sora looked up at him.

"It's okay now." Riku said as he rested his forehead against the younger male's. "I'm here now. Go to sleep."

Sora ignored their close proximity and shook his head. "I'm-"

He gave him a lopsided grin. "Don't worry, I'll protect you. I always do, don't I?"

Sora's heart pounded in his chest and his stomach did a quick flip. He was nervous about going back to sleep, but happy to have Riku there. He smiled and closed his eyes. Riku wouldn't let any harm come to him, he was sure of it.

_I trust you_.

Riku moved his arms up a little farther, so that one held Sora tightly around the waist and rested in the middle of his back, while the other laid between Sora's head and the bed. He had to bite his lip from moaning aloud. This was pure torture, but it was glorious torture.

Sora had wrapped one arm delicately around Riku's waist and let the other sit on his chest. He had pulled himself so close already, but it wasn't enough for Riku. He'd make it enough though, he wouldn't have Sora running from him again.

Riku gently rested his head on Sora's, inhaling his sweet aroma. This would be a nice night, he concluded. And if Sora showed any signs of a bad dream, Riku would wake him up and soothe him to the best of his abilities.

"Riku?" A whisper.

"Yeah?" The smile in his voice was obvious as he absently rubbed Sora's bare back.

"That feels nice…"

Riku beamed. He could almost see Sora blushing as he pressed his face against his chest. He kind of wished that he could.

What made his smile falter, however, was the tiny sweeping motions Sora was making on Riku's lower back.

Almost as if reading his mind, Sora smiled into his skin. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours…"

Riku had to laugh at this. "Neither of us are scratching, you dork."

Sora chuckled. "You know what I mean."

Riku nuzzled his face into Sora's hair. "Yeah, whatever, go to sleep now."

"And if I don't want to?"

He smiled at Sora's teasing manner. Sora was tired, but he was afraid to go to sleep, so he stalled. Riku noticed. "I'll make you."

Sora's face heated when Riku began caressing his back even more intimately that he had been doing. But it was in a comforting way. His touch trailed up to the nape of his neck, when he circled his fingers.

Sora felt embarrassed as a moan escaped him. "I'll go to sleep." Giving up would make Riku stop, right?

Riku closed his eyes. He was sure Sora could hear his heart beat erratically. Sora had _moaned_. Riku wanted to hear it again. But the chances of that were slim to none.

"I'll be here if you get scared, Sora." He reassured him.

The brunette smiled yet again. "Thanks." His lips felt dry now. Without thinking, his pink tongue popped out to swipe a quick layer of moisture across his bottom lip.

It missed.

Riku stilled instantly as he felt something warm and wet touch his skin. Did Sora just… lick him?

Sora blushed like there was no tomorrow. Oh god. What did he _do_!? "Sorry!" He squeaked. "I-I was just trying to…"

Riku pulled him closer, "It's okay, it happens. Now sleep."

He sighed. Riku's skin was smooth and soft, and it didn't taste awful, he admitted. But he'd have to be careful.

Stifling a yawn, Sora gave in and closed his eyes.

----------

So. _Sora_ was having the sleeping issues. _He_ was the one with the nightmares and he was the one who couldn't fall asleep.

How ironic was it then that it was _Riku _who was wide awake and aggravated that sleep could not find him as easily as it did his friend.

He wasn't cold anymore, that was a plus. And he was comfortable and happy now that Sora was in his arms.

He smiled. What a picture they must make!

He blushed in spite of himself. He wasn't some love-struck schoolgirl. This wasn't how he should be acting!

Riku sighed as he rubbed Sora's back. He had such a soft body. Not saying he was fat, Sora was very lean. But his skin was tender and it felt so good to hold. And they lay there in nothing but their boxers. Skin against skin.

Riku halted. Oh no. He shifted in his spot and felt just how thin those boxers were.

Crap.

Attempting to arch his back somewhat, Riku pushed Sora a little farther away. But Sora didn't approve. His sleepy self grabbed Riku's hips and pulled him closer, nuzzling his head into his chest.

Riku sighed and counted to ten, thinking of the most unattractive things possible. But Sora wouldn't leave his mind. The boy was the exact opposite of unattractive, what with his long, slender legs, his lean torso, his dazzling eyes and luscious lips…

He'd just have to take his mind off of him. Simple as that. But… how, when Sora was practically attached to him at the moment.

He tried again. Riku carefully moved away from Sora, but again Sora would not release his tenacious grip.

"Hn… no…"

Riku paused. Another nightmare or just a response to his actions?

He settled for the latter.

After another minute or so of pushing, pulling, and sighing, he gave up.

Fine. If everything was against him having his way, then fine! He wasn't angry, but he was annoyed, and in his annoyance, he shifted lower so that he neck to face with Sora and pulled even closer if possible.

A shudder ran up and down his spine as Sora buried his face in his neck, his breath tickling the sensitive skin there.

Riku took a deep breath. He'd sleep now. In the comfort of the arms of his Sora, he would sleep.

_His_? Riku smiled. His. That sounded nice…

----------

**Ack! You people don't know how amazingly happy your reviews make me! I swear, I open my inbox and before I even _read_ the thing, I've got a wide grin on my face and I feel warm all over. Thank you very much! But I feel unworthy of the sweet comments you all leave me, lol.**

**Dualism** - You reviewed again! And _again_ I have absolutely nothing to say. I wish I could express my thanks and joy whenever I read your reviews but it's impossible! I'm ecstatic that you like it, and thank you very much for the compliments! Please review again! (I know you said I shouldn't ask you to, but it really can't be helped… :P)  
**ASKInfinity** - I did, did I? Well, what do you know? I write the story and become a hero! lol. Thank you for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it so much! Do review again!  
**Spark of Life - **Ah, I see. I was trying something new this story, usually I don't do that. It was meant to be insight to both characters point of views, but I suppose it came out badly. lol. I started it off at a certain point rather than just from the beginning, but you're right. I should just write what both feel and think in the same section instead of splitting it into half a dozen little ones. Thanks very much on the tip:) I tried to fix it in this chapter… how'd I do? lol.  
**Simply Hated **- You don't _have_ to read this if you don't like the pairing, lol. I'm happy you're giving my writing a chance, but seriously, if it does you any bit of damage in any way, please just set it aside. But thank you nonetheless!  
**u k i r a r o s **- Aww, I love you too! lol. I love all my reviewers to bits and pieces!  
**quiche-me **- I was wondering where you were. lol. I'm happy you liked it! And I love the phrasing, lol. "make like bunnies do until the sun comes up", creative. :)

**Thank you also to:  
****- **NightHawk  
**- **jka1  
**- **dead edged blade  
**- **Muffy  
**- **apie  
**- **Riku-Rocks  
**- **kh4eva16  
**- **evilgoddess1990

**Please review again!  
Dragon**


	4. The Heat of a Sunday Afternoon

**DISCLAIMER: Hi. My name is Dragon. I own Kingdom Hearts. -runs from police-**

**Woohoo for eternities before the next update:D Please don't be angry with me… I know I've disappointed quite a few readers because of my lack of updates. I'm so sorry! But here! To make it up to you all, a nice, long chapter:) Okay… so _all_ my chapters are long. But still! It's a pretty great deal of effort that I put into this chapter, so I think it's pretty worthy of forgiveness for my laziness, huh? Pleeeeeaaaase?**

**Anyway, while you ponder on the many, many, _many_ reasons why I deserve your forgiveness (lol), here's the chapter— enjoy! Oh, and watch for mistakes in spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. for me. I'd love it if someone told me so I could fix it. :)**

----------

**Chapter 3 - Nightmares Bring Us Closer**

After another minute or so of pushing, pulling, and sighing, he gave up.

Fine. If everything was against him having his way, then fine! He wasn't angry, but he was annoyed, and in his annoyance, he shifted lower so that he neck to face with Sora and pulled even closer if possible.

A shudder ran up and down his spine as Sora buried his face in his neck, his breath tickling the sensitive skin there.

Riku took a deep breath. He'd sleep now. In the comfort of the arms of his Sora, he would sleep.

_His_? Riku smiled. His. That sounded nice…

----------

**Chapter 4 - The Heat of a Sunday Afternoon**

"No!" Riku shot up in the bed, panting. He ignored the loud thump against the hard, wooden floor and the small squeak of surprise that came with it.

His blood coursed through his veins, his heart pounded, and his head beat in rhythm with the aching organ in his chest.

What. The. Hell… Was that.

He crossed his legs on the soft mattress and leaned his head in his hands.

That dream… since when was he one to have a dream like _that_!?

----------

_Riku moaned— the feeling of his hands running across a warm, bare chest, resting against the figure's thighs as he spread their legs wide. _

_He hissed when the body pressed flush against his chest, wanting more contact with him. Riku panted and his arms encircled the body, holding it tightly to him while his face buried itself into the soft neck of his lover. He slid his hands down their back, gently cupping the smooth underside of the other body. _

_He continued kissing and sucking the tender skin in between the shoulder and the neck, all the while pressing himself closer._

_The body below him wrapped it's long legs around his waist and moaned Riku's name, scraping dull fingernails against his back. _

_This caused pleasure to well up inside of Riku. Oh how perfectly this petite frame molded into his. _

_As he continued his caresses, he softly nipped at the warm skin, and moaned loudly when the body underneath him began rocking slowly against him. He couldn't take it. He wanted this now._

"_Sora…"_

----------

That dream… Oh, that damned dream. If only he could just—

"Riku, what's wrong with you? Pushing me off the bed like that…"

Riku looked up to see a half naked Sora rising from the floor and rubbing his head. A yawn escaped the boy and Riku yearned to jump him right then and there.

But he refrained.

Sora stretched— much to Riku's displeasure, for the sight of Sora's muscles expanding and rippling gently under his tan skin was becoming to much for him— and scratched his stomach. "I thought _I_ was the one who was supposed to be having nightmares." He gave his best friend a lopsided, sleepy grin.

Riku looked away to hide the blush. "Yeah, well, there's no rule saying I can't have 'em either."

Nightmare. Was that really what he wanted to categorize it as?

He took a deep breath. Yes. Definitely yes. Last night was a mistake. So what if he had minor feelings for the boy, he wouldn't let that go any farther than it's gone already. He would lock up the thoughts, cravings, and affections that involved Sora and he'd never let them roam freely through his mind again.

He hoped.

"_Ri-ku_…?"

Riku blinked. He saw Sora's palm waving back and forth in front of his face.

Sora cocked his head to the side slightly. Maybe the dream was getting to him. He smirked. "Know what? I'm thinking you should see a therapist like I did. Maybe you'll be put on some medication too. And then we'll both have to suffer." He laughed quietly.

Riku rolled his eyes. Sora's cheerful attitude this morning was enough to get him to relax a little.

"Why are you laughing Sora? It's too early. And your jokes aren't that funny." He ended that with a yawn.

Sora huffed and leaned back, now sitting with his legs tucked underneath him and his hands between his thighs. "Someone's a little cranky today. And by the way Riku…" He pointed to the alarm clock beside his bed.

Riku turned to look and his eyes nearly widened.

3:42... In the after noon…

"Sora, tell me your alarm's off by a few hours."

Sora shrugged and slid off the bed. "I'd love to, but it'd be a lie."

Riku slumped in his spot. So not only did he have a naughty dream about Sora, but he also slept well into the day. He sighed and leaned back against the headboard.

Great.

"Hey Riku, I'm gonna go take a quick shower, okay? Just go downstairs and tell my mom you spent the night, she'll make you some breakfast… erm, lunch." He let out a quick laugh and walked out of the room, leaving Riku to himself.

Riku grunted in frustration. Okay, fine. He'll just… pretend like nothing happened.

Ugh! Was Sora an idiot? How could he be so calm!? Just last night he kissed him, touched him, held him, and, yes, _flirted_ with him.

Riku was practically shaking. In a brusque, but clumsy, manner, he jumped off the bed ad headed downstairs.

----------

Kanoko stood chopping carrots at the counter beside the sink. To her right stood the stove and a big pot atop the largest coil. To her left was, of course, the sink, as well as a large basket of freshly picked vegetables from the small backyard garden. In it was a variety of purple-tinted onions, average-sized cloves of garlic, a few bell peppers, some carrots, potatoes, and what looked to be parsley.

Riku smiled, hearing the familiar voice hum softly. He loved this woman. Sure, she wasn't _his_ mother, but she was as good as any. He loved his own mother, but Sora's was very lively, whereas his own was… quiet.

He stepped up to the breakfast nook in the center of the small, clean kitchen and pulled out a chair.

"Morning, Riku, dear. Sleep well?"

Riku barely made it on the stool as she said that. He nearly fell off with surprise.

"H-how'd you know it was me?"

She set the knife down and turned to face him, smiling brightly. "My son scrapes the chair against the ground. You're the only one who picks it up," she motioned with her hands, "and sets it back down." Kanoko giggled at him.

Riku grinned softly. Looking down, he noticed he was still in nothing but his boxers. He blushed.

Kanoko took notice and raised an eyebrow.

"U-umm, I spent the night last night. I-it was late, and I… I got locked out, so—"

Her laughter interrupted his shame-filled stuttering. "I know."

Riku's hear cocked towards her in astonishment. "You… do?"

She nodded and clapped her hands together in apparent pleasure. "Yep! I walked in earlier this afternoon to see what Sora was doing, and I saw you two cuddled up together." She brought her hands to her face and looked at the ceiling. "Oh it was lovely. You held him so close and he looked so peaceful!"

Riku's face heated with every syllable. He was sure she'd be having to clean up the blood eventually— this afternoon did nothing more but call for an explosion.

Kanoko continued in delight. "And the covers were off, so I had to come in and put them back on, you know. So when I did, I was barely refraining myself from squealing the living daylights out of the two of you!"

Riku's breathing was becoming labored. Would it be rude to tell her to _shut up_?

He sighed inwardly. Yes… probably would be.

"Your arms were all the way around him and you could barely see his face! He was holding on pretty tightly from the looks of it." She nodded and placed her hands on her hips. "But you _know_, Riku…"

Riku swallowed the heavy lump in his throat as he listened to her say this with such a mischievous tone. "Y-y-yeah?"

"I couldn't help but notice the little blush on your face as you slept." Her tone and expression immediately changed as she launched herself at the younger boy. "I just wanted to eat you up! It was precious…!"

Riku held on to the counter as the woman smothered him. This couldn't get more awkward.

"Mom, you just saw him yesterday, god…" Sora laughed as he entered the warm room.

Okay… just did.

"So what's for lunch?"

Kanoko released Riku and grinned at her son. "Morning, honey. And I'm making _dinner_ now. It's almost four." She turned to Riku. "Will you be staying?"

Riku looked to Sora for an answer. He'd already spent the entire day with him yesterday and last night. Would dinner be too much? And he did have his _own_ family to eat with after all.

Sora smiled and nodded, dragging out a chair to sit next to Riku.

Riku cringed as the stool scraped against the tiles. Kanoko was right.

Sora leaned forward on the counter. He hadn't eaten anything since dinner the other night. He was _starving_. "Mom, can I at least make a sandwich?"

Kanoko resumed her carrot chopping and shook her head. "If you're hungry, eat something light. I'm making stew tonight, and you'd be spoiling it." She grabbed a carrot from her side and tossed it to Sora. "Eat up!" She smiled.

Sora glared at his mother, then at the carrot. He sighed. "I hate carrots." And he took a bite.

Riku watched him with an equivocal smile. He was definitely cute sometimes…

_B-but… anyone would admit that…_

Heaving another sigh, he looked back at Kanoko. That conversation earlier… he prayed she'd let it stay between just the two of them.

"By the way, you two should go get ready."

Sora stopped his munching and looked at her questioningly.

----------

"Riku!"

"Coming, coming, hold on!"

Sora tapped his foot impatiently against the warm concrete sidewalk leading from their house. Sora's mother had called the amusement park this morning and reserved two passes for them.

But if Riku didn't hurry up, the passes would most likely expire before they even left the neighborhood.

"Urgh… _Riku_! Hurry up! What could you be—"

"Man, Sora, calm down. You're acting like this is our last time going to the park." Riku emerged from the doorway.

And Sora couldn't help but stare.

What the hell was he wearing?

Riku noticed the attention and held back a blush, grinning wickedly at the brunette. "See something you like?"

Sora raised his eyebrows. "I see something." His eyes skimmed over Riku's clothes. "But definitely not _enough _of that something."

"Umm… what do you mean?" His stomach twisted unpleasantly. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should have just dressed normally. Why did he even agree to wear something like this?

"I think that four year old boy we see down at the beach wears clothes the same size." He laughed.

Riku couldn't stop the blush that surfaced. "If you don't like it, fine! But don't blame me, blame you're mother!" He turned around and stormed back in. He knew it. His instincts were almost _always_ right. And this time, he should've followed them.

Sora's laughter faded. "My… mom? Wait, Riku!" He ran in after him. What did he mean his mother?

"Oh, good to see you, Sora, dear. Hand me that scarf over there."

Sora tilted his head. "Mom, what are you doing?"

Kanoko smiled prettily. "Could you get Riku, please? He seems to have closed himself up in your room."

Sora scratched the back of his neck. Did she make Riku wear those clothes? But more importantly, why?

----------

Sora curled his fingers into his palm and readied himself for knocking.

But the door opened before he had the chance, and an anger-piqued Riku stood before him. At least his new attire was less… flagrant.

He wore simple jeans with a hole or two near his kneecap and a pale blue t-shirt.

Sora blushed in embarrassment. Riku was blushing too.

"Uh, about earlier. I didn't mean to—"

"Can we just go to the park?" He snapped.

Sora eyed him and then looked down. Why was Riku so snippy today? He seemed to be bouncing from bad mood to good mood at completely random times. Maybe Sora did something? Maybe last night had a bigger effect on him that he thought. What about the nightmare?

Riku looked down at Sora's downcast head. He did it again. Made Sora upset. But it was Sora's own fault this time, for making fun of the way he dressed. But then again, looking back on the outfit… it _was_ pretty disastrous. Well, lesson learned: don't trust Kanoko's suggestions regarding clothing.

He sighed for the billionth time that afternoon. Before he could stop himself, he grabbed Sora's shoulders and pulled him close, sliding his arms down around his back and burying his face in the younger boy's hair, completing the embrace.

This again… Didn't he forget about these feelings?

Apparently not.

Sora yelped in surprise as his body came in contact with Riku's warm one. Again? Riku was becoming very intimate.

Sora didn't protest however. It was kind of nice actually, much like last night. And Riku smelled good.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry for being such a bastard today." He chuckled impassively.

Sora closed his eyes and wound his arms around Riku's waist. "You should be."

Riku tensed, then laughed. "You're supposed to say, 'It's okay, Riku, I'll forgive you. I _always_ forgive you.'"

Sora grinned. "Says who?"

Riku brought his hands down to Sora's sides and pulled back. "Me, of course."

Sora looked up at him, his aquamarine eyes shining. A funny feeling rose in the pit of his stomach. For a passing second, he briefly thought it might be because of hunger. But it was kind of… different. Unusual.

Riku, on the other hand, was thinking about absolutely nothing. He was lost. Completely lost in Sora's cerulean eyes. Without thinking, he stepped closer to him.

Sora detected this movement and immediately felt heat rush over him. He stepped away and towards the stairs. "Come on Riku, first one at the park get's the loser to buy him cotton candy." He stuck his tongue out and dashed down the steps.

Riku leaned back against the doorframe and ran his fingers through his silver hair.

That was dangerous.

----------

Sora slumped as he walked past the endless crowds of people. Looking behind him, he saw Riku moving very slowly. The damn guy was at least five yards away!

Sora turned and walked towards Riku.

Riku paused mid-step. "What?"

"Whaddaya mean what? You're slow. _Really_ slow. Hurry it up, it's almost sundown! And I still haven't gotten my cotton candy, Riku." Sora folded his arms over his chest.

Riku smirked. "Okay, how about, who ever loses at…" He looked around for a game, then spotted one involving water pistols and a clown's head painted on a plastic board. "…_that_, has to buy the cotton candy _and_ got on the winner's choice of rides."

Sora frowned. He was never good at game where you had to aim. But he nodded anyway. "I guess…"

----------

"The Ferris Wheel!"

Riku grumbled as the brunette led the way across the quickly dimming amusement park. Looks like his aim was worse than he thought.

Sora noticed the downtrodden atmosphere surrounding his best friend. "Cheer up, Riku. If it makes you feel better, it was all pure luck on my part. I suck at carnival games. Ask anyone!" He laughed.

Riku rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. That's what they all say."

"'They' being?"

Riku chuckled and mussed up his hair. "Let's hurry up. The Ferris Wheel won't be worth riding after the sun goes down. They're letting off fireworks, too." He stuck his hands in his pockets and briskly made way to the giant ride.

Sora nodded and picked off another section of his cotton candy as he followed the older boy. "Riku."

"Yeah?"

"Come here a second."

Riku stopped and turned around, making a muffled sound as something soft and light entered his mouth. "_Mmph_…!"

"Good, huh?" Sora laughed softly, patting Riku on the shoulder. "And there's plenty more where that came from."

Riku licked his lips. "Yeah, but you're paying for the dentist's bill."

It was Sora's turn to roll his eyes. "Seriously? It was one bite. Be a man, Riku."

Riku cocked an eyebrow. He reached down and grabbed a large chunk of feathery candy and pushed it through the unknowing boy's lips. And to make sure he kept it in, he held his fingers at his mouth, and smirked.

Sora's eyes widened as a large amount of cotton candy entered his mouth. It melted pretty quickly, but it was enough to get his eyes to water.

"Be a man, Sora."

At the sound of his laughter, Sora grinned wickedly and bit down on the finger still at his lips.

Riku jerked the tender finger back. "What was that for?"

"The ride's waiting." He smiled innocently and walked past him.

Riku looked down at his finger and blushed. It was still kind of wet from touching Sora's lips and teeth.

Maybe…

He lifted the finger to his face, tempted beyond all means to taste it. The blush spread wider across his features and he wiped it quickly against his chest.

No. That was enough.

----------

"Two please." Said the monotonous voice of the worker. She looked positively bored out of her mind standing there with the bright orange and yellow box fastened neatly around her neck. Her dark hair was tied back in a loose braid and she smacked her gum over and over again as the people passed by.

Riku took two tickets from his pocket and slipped them into the slot in the center of the box. He smiled briefly at the girl and headed up the steps to the empty cage with Sora, but not before missing the small blush that danced across her cheeks.

He mentally grinned— he still had that charm.

Taking a seat, Riku examined the cage. "Hey, Sora—" Opposite him was a large man, apparently confused. He gazed at Riku in an unnerving manner.

Too _much_ charm, he supposed.

Slightly panicked now, he looked to the door in search of Sora.

Sora nudged the man beside him. "Hey, move— I'm trying to… _ugh_…!"

"Sora!"

Sora looked up into the cage where Riku stood and extended his hand. Sora grinned nervously, and pushed through the crowd. "Coming, Riku…"

Said boy glanced quickly at the man sitting across from him, eyeing Riku's body wickedly. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the man, grabbed his arm, and led him to the door.

"H-hey, what're you—"

In that swift push, the man stumbled out of the cage, causing the crowd to disperse slightly.

Sora took this chance and moved towards the cage, up the steps, and in he went.

Riku fell back onto his seat as the cage door closed shut with a hiss, and he laughed merrily. "That was amazing!"

Sora grinned and sat in the seat across from him. "Yeah, at least you made it in."

Riku waved his hand at him. The Ferris Wheel jerked lightly and began to move. "So did you."

"Whatever." He said, rolling his eyes.

Riku smiled and looked out of the cage walls as the Wheel turned. The amusement park lights were already lit. The park wasn't very big at all. Actually, it was quite small. It had this Ferris Wheel, a few roller coasters, some small games, a little lake, and a food court. It probably took up a little less than half the island though.

"Riku, look."

He turned to his friend. "At?"

"It's raining."

Riku looked back out into the park. "Well whaddaya know…"

Sora's squeak brought his attention back to the boy. "What now?"

Sora shuddered and covered his head with his hands. "The roof on this side has a slit in it. I'm getting all wet." He laughed.

Riku leaned forward.

Yep. There was definitely a cut along the roof.

His heart leapt. Maybe this was fate telling them that they should be sitting together…

Might as well.

"Hey, Sora?"

"Yeah?" He swat another droplet of rainwater from his hair.

"I know the cage isn't _that_ big, but you're welcome to sit next to me." He looked down at his lap, afraid to look the boy in the eye. What was wrong with him!? Why was he so scared? The worse he could do was decline; it was a friendly gesture, that was all. It's not like he—

"Is that okay?"

Riku looked up at Sora's bright blue eyes. He was serious!

His stomach twisted pleasantly. "Y-yeah. It's fine." He scooted over as far as the wall would let him. "Uh, there's not much room though…"

The cage was small, as he had said earlier. On opposite sides, there were two small benches meant to fit one person each. Even thought Riku and Sora were thin, the bench still left no room for the two of them to sit comfortably.

"We'll squeeze."

Riku laughed yet again. "We'll _try_."

Sora stood, panicking slightly as the cage tilted to hold his weight. With a few clumsy movements, he grabbed onto Riku's knee for balance.

Riku felt his skin burn. It felt as though small, molten hot needles were being pricked in and out of his skin where Sora held on.

"Okay, get ready to squeeze, Riku." Sora smiled down at him, then turned around and slid into the seat.

Torture.

Plain torture was what this was…

"Woohoo! We did it. This isn't so bad." Sora laughed, ignoring the new warmth pressing against his side.

Sora had made it in, but that caused them to be insanely close. If one placed anything living in between their hips at this moment, it would die of lack of oxygen. _That_ was how close they were. And believe it or not, the warmth down there made him kind of cold up top.

He shuddered.

Sora looked up at him with his innocent blue orbs. "You cold?"

"Uh, just a little."

Sora raised his brows and grinned. "For once you're the one who's cold and not me. What brought this on?" He giggled to himself.

Riku rolled his eyes. Sora was getting cocky.

He tensed up completely as he felt Sora chain their arms together his warm body lean into his own. He snapped his head down to look at the younger boy.

Sora looked out of the cage at the lights below and blushed fiercely. "Just returning the favor from last night."

Riku forced even breaths to come out, but it was becoming difficult. "Th-thanks."

"Uh-huh."

----------

Two minutes.

Two damn minutes had passed and they were stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel. Two minutes that seemed like two million years. And Sora was still clinging on to Riku's arm and leaning against him. If anyone saw this now, they'd have problems doubting they were a couple.

Riku sighed heavily.

"You think fireworks can go up in rain?"

He started. "Er, yeah. Probably can. I don't think the weather's gonna stop them. Otherwise we'd be moving again."

Sora nodded and looked up at him, his chin now on Riku's shoulder. "Right… when do you think they'll start 'em?"

Riku's gaze left his beautiful eyes and traveled down to his lips. He was receiving mental slaps and punches a hundred times per second, but he couldn't look away. "Dunno. Maybe another minute or so."

Sora sighed and closed his eyes. "If they don't hurry, I'll be asleep during the fireworks."

Riku smiled. Though his face was calm, his heart was threatening to explode out of his chest. "Go ahead. I'll wake you up."

Eyes still closed, Sora grinned. "No you won't, you big liar. You said the same thing last year. And the year before that."

Riku laughed softly, the huskiness in his voice barely noticeable. "This time I promise."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure."

Riku leaned his head down until they bumped foreheads.

Sora's eyes opened. He blushed. Riku's sea green eyes were penetrating his. He could feel his warm breath on his nose. What was going on?

"Sora, I—"

A blast of light followed by a loud boom echoed through the sky. Sora jumped in his seat, hitting his nose against Riku's. "The fireworks." He whispered, dazed.

Riku panted softly and pressed his face barely a centimeter closer. "You didn't miss them this time."

"Yeah…"

Another bright light surrounded them, colors of blue, red, and green danced across their faces. But neither Sora nor Riku saw them.

Sora's clutch on Riku's arm tightened as their breaths mingled. "Riku… I—"

In a flurry of nervousness, anxiety, excitement, and emotion, Riku took control and pressed his lips to the younger boy's; not to softly, but not to roughly either. The feel of Sora's soft, tender mouth against his was too much to take in and Riku felt lightheaded.

But as quickly as the kiss had begun, it had ended. Sora pulled away, shocked and red-faced. He panted and leaned away from Riku. His eyes were wide and searching the older boy's frantically, wanting an answer for what just happened.

But Riku's eyes held no answer that Sora would have liked; just passion, wanting, and regret.

Sora stumbled out of the seat and sat back against the bench opposite of Riku, leaning closely to the wall of the cage and peering out, not daring to make eye contact.

That was his first kiss. Riku had probably kissed a million other girls before this, but Sora never had kissed anyone— aside from his mother.

But that didn't count.

And now, his first kiss was taken away by his best friend, a _boy_ at that. And Sora felt… uneasy about it. He was confused. Why did Riku kiss him? Why did Riku act so strangely lately. And… why did Sora's heart jump when Riku finally leaned down and captured his lips? Sora's breathing was labored. He felt sick to his stomach, and the smell of rain and summer's heat wasn't making it any better.

Riku's heart pounded and his blood rushed from his face. He felt sick. He just kissed his best friend; scared him away… What now? The kiss was more than he'd imagined it to be, and, for the second and a half that it lasted, he was more happy than he'd ever been.

But now…

Hands shaking and throat closing up, Riku looked away from the boy and up at the sky. He saw no fireworks, no color, no happiness.

Just darkness.

----------

**AHA! So it's true. Riku does in fact have naughty dreams about our favorite brunette. And that dream scene… yeah, torture to write, let me tell you. lol. I guess I'm just one of those people who _have _to have a steamy scene or two in their stories, but take all the courage they can get to write it. Heh… that's great, isn't it? And let me just say, I absolutely _adore_ Sora's mother. Her character is coming out perfectly!**

**Poor Riku though, huh? He's so sad! But here you go— a kiss. Poor Sora, too. It was his very first kiss and he's so confused about it. Well, no one should worry. They won't hate each other. It'll just be awkward between them now, and there will be some avoiding going on. lol. **

**Lastly, I hope you're all happy to see that there isn't much of a cliffhanger this time. :)**

**Hey… you guys want to know something kind of scary? As you all (hopefully) know, I was never a big fan of boy x boy pairings. But after actually experiencing what it's like to write one, and hearing/reading from you guys that it's not half bad, I think I'm really starting to get into it. And this means the chapters are going to get better and better. Because, in the past few chapters, I wasn't as into the yaoi thing as I am now. Keep in mind, however, I still don't _love_ the idea of it, but I'm much less against it now:D And writing it even give me butterflies in my stomach like normal pairings usually do! **

**Well, that paragraph was pretty pointless, eh? lol. Anyway, I'm immensely happy with the reviews. Thank you all so much! I've decided to only reply to a few, and the ones I'm not replying to aren't going to be in the author's note. It saves some space for the actual chapter. Don't you hate finding that the chapter is incredibly long, and then scrolling down to see that almost half of it is all review replies? I know it bothers me when I'm reading fanfiction, so I'm guessing it might bother you too? **

**Simply Hated - **Oh brother… lol. What help? You read it and tell me you're sick afterwards. That's not help. lol. Oh well, I hope you liked this one. :P  
**Dualism - **-cries- I love you and your reviews! And trust me, redundancy is fine; I'm happy getting these confidence boosts every once in a while. lol. It makes me feel like my writing is special. …so now I feel bad. You write such wonderful reviews and I honestly don't know what to write back! How about a million 'thank you's?  
**Riku-Rocks - **Thank you very much. I'll agree with you on that one. It's not that I _hate_ it, I just get tired of reading 'love at first sight' stories, where they get together in chapter two… lol. Please review again!  
**ASKInfinity - **I'm trying to… but school's back again. lol. Just goes to show how bad I am at keeping track of time. Thank you for the sincere wishes and the reply!  
**happy as rain **- That's what I was going for; true-to-life. It's coming along pretty good, I think. I'm glad you're catching on as well!

**Thanks again! And please review some more for me! Oh, and constructive criticism and grammar comments are always very helpful.**

Dragon


	5. To Forgive and Forget?

**DISCLAIMER: ****If I owned Kingdom Hearts, it would not be available for public viewing, seeing as it would be rated NC-17 and most scenes would not consist of an adventure, but rather a small room, a bed, a cute brunette, and a sexy silver-haired boy... and possibly a whip.  
**

**It's been... well, basically forever since my last update. And forgive me PLEASE! I've just been busy. Yes, I know, bad authoress... but I really can't help it! This next week is finals, and this last year has been a ton to bear. I'm in charge of so many things at school that it's basically killing me, and my friend is planning our summer trip to Europe together. And.. I know you don't really care about any of that stuff, just as long as the chapter is up, but just understand that I have a lot to do, that's why I'm not updating often. But I'm making an attempt to update! See here? Proof! Woo!**

**And enjoy the chapter— bask in it's glorious suckishness!**

**Oh, and I know everyone knows this already, but what the hay... **"talking"** and **'_thinking_'

----------

**Chapter 4 - The Heat of a Sunday Afternoon**

That was his first kiss. Riku had probably kissed a million other girls before this, but Sora never had kissed anyone— aside from his mother.

But that didn't count.

And now, his first kiss was taken away by his best friend, a _boy_ at that. And Sora felt… uneasy about it. He was confused. Why did Riku kiss him? Why did Riku act so strangely lately. And… why did Sora's heart jump when Riku finally leaned down and captured his lips? Sora's breathing was labored. He felt sick to his stomach, and the smell of rain and summer's heat wasn't making it any better.

Riku's heart pounded and his blood rushed from his face. He felt sick. He just kissed his best friend; scared him away… What now? The kiss was more than he'd imagined it to be, and, for the second and a half that it lasted, he was more happy than he'd ever been.

But now…

Hands shaking and throat closing up, Riku looked away from the boy and up at the sky. He saw no fireworks, no color, no happiness.

Just darkness.

----------

**Chapter 5 - To Forgive and Forget?**

The ride ended slowly. As their cage halted at the bottom of the ferris wheel, Riku felt his stomach do an unpleasant flip. It was as if his stomach wasn't ready to stop the ride and made like it's own ferris wheel inside of him. Just the thought of having to walk out of the park with Sora and actually _make conversation_ with the boy made Riku's stomach trampoline up to his throat.

Awful night.

Sora's thoughts ran along the same lines... almost. He was more shocked than anything. He was disgusted, angry, confused, and at the verge of sobbing like a four-year-old with cookies in devastatingly unreachable view. But even though he felt like this, his face was hard-set and blank. His movements were slow and awkward. He felt too numb to cry... for once.

Sora took a shaking breath. He had come to the park to have fun (even though it was his mother's idea in the first place); then he had climbed on the ferris wheel to see the fireworks. The_ fireworks_ for God' sake! And he left with a heavy weight on his shoulders and on his lips.

"Have a nice night." The gum-smacking girl handed them flyers as they passed the ropes and headed for the ride exit. The flyers were packed with coupons for sodas, buy-one-get-one-free burgers, and a free ferris wheel ride valid up through the next month.

Riku smiled at her politely, crumpling up the paper as she looked down with a blush. God damn all the people in the world who liked him and were not Sora.

Said boy picked up the pace as they stepped through the gate. The boardwalk seemed to go on forever, and Sora had switched on the 'speed walk'.

Riku ran to catch up to him. "Sora, wait—"

He stopped abruptly, taking a deep breath. He turned around and stared at Riku unnervingly. "You can go home, you don't have to walk me. Just... just forget about today, okay?" And he ran home.

Riku's throat clenched closed. He felt everything he had eaten for the past _month_ threaten to came out the way it came in. He had just chased Sora away.

_Fuck._

----------

"Sora, Riku! Welcome back! How was...the... Riku?" Kanoko looked around. She reopened the door and looked all sides, even up, frighteningly enough. "Young man, what did you do to Riku?"

Sora's fists shook. As he walked home—or more so _ran_ home— the emotion boiled up inside of him. He didn't even know why he was feeling like this. It was just a kiss! But... it was a kiss from Riku, his _best friend_. This was even the _second_ kiss he gave him! There was a bigger chance of God and the Devil sending him and his mother an invitation for their wedding than things ever going back to normal with him and Riku. And now his mother went and questioned him about the object of his...despair, even? He willed himself not to make a scene, he begged his instincts to just shut up and take a vacation, and he bit his tongue to keep it from spewing word-daggers at the woman who had the power to take him out of the world just as she had brought him in. But no such luck. "If you like Riku so much, then why don't you make _him_ your son and leave me the hell _alone_?!" He stomped up the steps to his bedroom and slammed the door, fuming.

Kanoko stood with a hand on the doorknob and her jaw on the floor. "Oh dear..." Her eyes softened with sadness. Not so much for what Sora has said to her, but instead at the fact that the chances of her son and that wonderful boy ever getting together and being _happy_ were decreasing. She knew Sora and Riku were happy together, and that was all she wanted. If it meant being yelled at and hated for awhile, she could take it.

She closed the door after taking one more hopeful look for the silver-haired boy, and walked into the kitchen to prepare a quick dinner to take up to Sora's room. Maybe the poor baby was just hungry...

----------

"Riku? Where have you been all day?!" Riku's dad walked into the living room from his study. "I've been waiting for you to come home since dinner last night! Your mother was worried sick! She even thought about phoning the police. And now it's been nearly 24 hours. You didn't even call!"

"Riku?" A voice came from the kitchen. A woman emerged with long black hair and pale, porcelain skin. "_Riku_! Oh Riku..." His mother held him close to her, pressing the side of her face to his. "_Where were you_?!" She whispered furiously.

Riku never once thought about hating his mother. He loved her very much, and only somewhat hated his dad. But she was very clingy. And since his parents were so traditional, he could only imagine the looks on their faces (he could almost imagine the look of their tombstones) if he told them about his sudden affection for the boy who lived across the street.

"Hey mom."

"That's all you have to say to your mother? Not even an 'I'm sorry'? I thought we'd raised you better."

'_Apparently not._' If he was feeling the way he was about Sora and scaring him away, then they obviously had trouble raising him properly. "Sorry..."

Riku's mom looked at him with hard eyes, but then they softened and teared up. "Oh my_ baby_!"

Riku felt the air whoosh out of his lungs as his mother crushed him with her love. "Mom... Mom! _Mom_!! _Please_?!"

She pulled away and dragged him to the kitchen. "Come eat dinner, you must be starving!"

'_Not really..._' His stomach would burst with the shame he felt, adding food to the problem was like deciding you could drive off of a cliff and onto an imaginary road. Both dangerous. Both stupid. Both unwanted. "Yeah, sure."

She paused for a moment, looking him up and down. "Riku, dear, are you alright? Girl problems?"

Inner-Riku scoffed. '_Girl problems? Dear naive mother, it's time you know that your son has grown up and passed the stage of women, entering into the painful world of brown-haired boys._'

Riku nodded. "I think I'll just take my dinner upstairs, if you don't mind."

His mother's bottom lip quivered. "But... you just came home, and... and I was scared silly... and... and... Riku, you've never had issues with girls before... I—"

"Mom, we'll talk tomorrow." He didn't want to leave her alone like that, but he couldn't help it. Riku never cried. _Ever_. And now, he was a hair's width close to breaking.

----------

"Sora? Sora? Hey, _Sora_!"

"Go away Tidus." Sora's muffled response came from under his pillow.

Tidus jiggled the doorknob for the millionth time. "C'mon Sora! I seriously gotta talk to you! Open the damn door already."

"I said, _go away_!"

"But Sora, it's about R—"

The door was yanked open. "Go. Away."

Tidus gulped. Sora's hair was almost floating around his head and his eyes were dark. "I don't want to talk about Riku."

"R-Riku? What's your problem, Sora? I was talking about Roxas! He got himself into trouble with the principal again." He snorted. "Figures. School's out and Roxas still manages to annoy the crap out of Anura. I swear it's fate."

Sora exhaled the sharp breath he'd taken. "Roxas?"

"Yes. Roxas. God Sora, are you taking something you shouldn't be? You're actin' all weird. Now go and _get_ Riku so you two can go bail him out of the juvenile department, okay?"

Sora stuttered for a moment, then regained composure. "Why do I have to go with Riku? Can't _you_ just go?"

Tidus grinned promiscuously. "I'd love to an' all, but... I have a date with Selphie."

His eyes narrowed. "You don't _like_ Selphie."

Tidus shrugged. "Yeah... but I thought I'd give her a chance. That and she got us passes into that crazy new nightclub in the city. Man, I've been dyin' to go!" He did a little jump and hooted, throwing his hands in the air. "Well, bye!"

"Wait, Tidu—" Sora sighed. He sat on the floor in front of the doorway. So what now? Maybe he could go by himself and get Roxas out. No... that wouldn't work. First he needed a ride, and Riku was one of the few who could drive. No one really needed to drive though, everything was within walking distance. So why the hell did they make the city so far away?

Then he also needed help, seeing as Riku's people skills were better than Sora's. That, and many of the workers were women who loved Riku's looks, so they basically melted in his hands.

"Fine." He would have to collect himself before asking him though. It was awkward enough already.

"Mom?"

"Yes?" Came Kanoko's cry from the bottom of the stairs.

"Put breakfast in a bag for me, I've gotta go!" He scratched his head and yawned.

This would be a long day.

----------

"Riku! Wake up, Sora's here!" Called his mom from the door. A soft "_shhhh_" could be heard coming from Sora as he waved his hands frantically in a "no, no, I'm still not sure if I want him to see me" kind of way.

Riku sprung from his bed and bolted down the hall to the top of the stairs. His mother was walking away and Sora was standing at the door looking at a photograph of Riku and his family smiling and laughing on their boat. The top step creaked as Riku's foot pressed on it, and Sora turned to look at him.

Any other day had Sora seen Riku in his boxers and a bare chest, it would have been okay. He might have even made the casual "put something on; you'll scare away the girls" comment. But now... Sora blushed and stared at his face, refusing to let his eyes wander and his mind think naughty things. Those things weren't even about Riku solely, but more of what Riku would do to him while Sora cried and tried to get away. And for a brief second or two, Sora found himself thinking that Riku's body wouldn't scare _anyone_ away.

Damn the inability of teenage boys to clear their minds of unholy thoughts!

"Sora—"

"Roxas is in the juvenile department again, Tidus said we have to go and get him out." It all came out so fast. "So... get ready, I'll wait outside." He stepped out and closed the door before Riku could get a word in.

He sighed.

Long day ahead.

----------

"Mom, I'm leaving!"

Riku's dad stood from his chair across the door in the family room, in what seemed to be defensive position. "Oh no you're not, young man. After being out all day and all night, you expect us to let you go out again?"

Riku nodded.

"Enough of your sm—"

"Oh hush, honey. Let him out for awhile. He'll be with Sora." His mother intervened, holding a plate in one hand and a semi-wet dishcloth in the other. Her husband eyed her for a moment, ready to argue against it, but he just shook his head and sat back down in defeat.

Riku smiled at her. "Thanks." He mouthed, and then out he went.

"_Ow_! Riku!" Sora jumped back from the door and rubbed his head feverishly.

Riku's face flamed and he leaned down to help Sora friction the pain away. "Sorry!" How was he supposed to know that Sora would be sitting half a foot from the door?!

"It's... Just forget it, let's go." He mumbled and began walking away.

Riku wasn't ready to live the rest of his life in awkward silence around Sora; being avoided and ignored. "Sora, wait."

Sora stopped in his steps and stiffened. What now? He really didn't feel like talking now. And especially not to Riku.

"Sora," He started, walking up to him. Riku stood behind him, looking at his shoulders rise and fall as Sora took deep breaths. "I'm sorry. Really. At the ferris wheel..." He looked up for help to tie his words together, hoping to see a phrase or two in the clouds above that might help him in this situation. "I just... I don't what happened. I'm so sorry. Please, just... just don't be like this."

Sora spun around, eyes narrowed and finger pointed. "Are you serious?!"

Riku blinked and cocked his head back, surprised.

"Don't be like this? You scared the crap out of me when you... you..." He didn't want to say what Riku did. Saying it would be like confirming it happened, and Sora just wanted to pretend that it never did. "And you expect me to just say 'it's okay Riku, I forgive you, I _always_ forgive you!'? Well I don't know if I can!"

Riku was having trouble swallowing. His face was heating up with shame and embarrassment.

"You acted all weird before that too! You... you freak me out lately, Riku! I don't know what's wrong with you, but I can't really take any more of it. If you can't go back to being _Riku_, then just go away!" Sora panted. It felt _damn_ good getting it all off his chest!

But Riku wasn't happy with this at all. Sora's name came from him in a whisper.

"What?" He spat bitterly. Talking to Riku like this was awful. Sora's heart hurt and his head hurt and all of him just _ached_. Riku was like a brother to him. He'd taken care of Sora for his entire life. When they were little, Riku was the one to cheer him up after his nightmares. He was the one to scare away potential bullies. And now, insulting him like this was a horrible feeling. But it had to be done, right?

"Sora, I said I was sorry..." His words faded. He wasn't exactly crying, since he didn't want to admit that he liked Sora enough to _cry _for him. But... it was getting hard to see clearly. He could tell his eyes were getting wetter than normal.

"So when someone gets raped, the guy can just go and say sorry?! You think they'd let him off the hook?"

And that broke him. Rape? It was _that_ bad?

A sob escaped him, one that stung Sora.

His eyes widened. Riku _never_ cried. The last time was when his lizard died when they were nine, but that was because Riku accidentally stepped on him. He was mortified that he just murdered something so special to him that he cried for days. But here he stood before him now... _crying._ And it hurt Sora more than he thought it would. "R-Riku..."

Rape.

That's what Sora compared Riku's act of affection to.

And it sucked.

"L-Lets just go get Roxas." Sora murmured. He backed up, waiting for Riku to follow. Was he supposed to apologize? He'd never been in this position before, so he didn't know what to do.

Riku clenched his jaw and looked to his side, backing up as well. When his heel hit the first step of his porch, he fell back, sitting without caring if his white shorts would get dirty. His mind was screaming.

Sora gripped the front of his shirt. Why was it Riku could get angry and say stupid things and get away with it, but Sora could not? He was always the one who was limited. Always the one who went overboard.

"I won't... I'm—" Riku sighed in defeat, still looking away. He brought his wrist up and swiped the blue wristband under his nose.

Why did God care so much about Riku? Why was it that everything Sora did turned out wrong? And why couldn't he just be _mean_ to Riku for once?

Riku took shaky breaths. Why was his life turning out like one of those television dramas? The girl is in love with the guy who loves someone else, so he leaves her to drown in her tears. Or throw up. That's what Riku felt like. He was so..._ugh_-feeling that he could throw up. A shadow cloaked him, darkening his vision of the sidewalk. He looked up, eyes brimming with glistening tears.

"If... If I forgive you this time, will you tell me why you're being so weird?" Sora's face was dark as it blocked the sun. Riku could not make out his features.

Was he smiling? Was he frowning?

He didn't have time to say anything or think any further. Sora was on his knees in front of him, arms around Riku's neck and chin on his shoulder. Riku looked away again, refusing to return the hug. Maybe Sora wouldn't like it.

Sora made a noise of disapproval. "Hey, Riku, what's up with you? I thought you developed a hug fetish or something."

Riku couldn't help the small chuckle he gave. "Nope."

Sora smiled slightly. This was more like it, aside from the fact that he was still holding Riku. "You liar. Come Christmas, you're not getting _any_ presents."

"I can be naughty and still get gifts. It's been proven." Sora gave him a present every year, regardless of what he did or didn't do.

"Well so can I. I can get up now and not forgive you, you know." He sounded quite morose, but guilty as well.

Riku felt a sense of panic surround his heart, stopping it for a moment. His arms encircled Sora's small waist and pulled him flush against his chest. The only thing was, his legs were spread open and Sora was very close.

But he'd ignore it! He would...

"Now, admit you have an unhealthy obsession with hugs." Sora mumbled into his neck.

Riku exhaled. "I admit I have an unhealthy obsession with hugs. But only if they're from you." He laughed.

Sora did the same. "There you go again being weird."

"You like it when I'm weird though, you know you do."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep dreaming."

Riku hummed in content. But it still bothered him what Sora said about his kiss.

"Hey... Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Did... did you mean it? Wh-What you said before, I mean..."

Sora's heart sunk. He didn't have to ask what it was to know. And he didn't know if he should push it any further. Maybe it was a bit extreme what he had said... "No."

Riku smiled and let out another laugh. His grip on Sora tightened and he buried his face in his hair. "I feel better now."

Sora unwound his arms from around the older boy and sat on the step below the one Riku was perched on. He leaned back until his head was against Riku's chest. Riku's arms still held him and Sora couldn't say he didn't like it _at all_. "Can't have that."

Sora's tone of voice was very playful, and Riku knew it well enough not to be offended this time.

"You know... in a way, it _was_ like rape, Riku."

Riku laughed. "Yeah, I raped your lips."

Sora blushed. It _was_ a real kiss. "It lasted half a second. You're the worst rapist in history."

Riku was feeling so slap-happy all of a sudden. He could have laughed at the stupidest comment possible. "You were angry as hell, so I think I'm a pretty good one."

"Hey, you'd be mad if I went and kissed you out of no where." Sora turned and looked him in the eyes, playful grin still on his lips.

"Would not." He defended.

He scoffed. "Oooh... you so would."

"How much do you want to bet that only you would get so mad at something like a kiss?" Riku grinned and leaned his head forward. This was dangerous and flirtatious, but he was having fun. And so was Sora, he could tell.

"Nuh-uh!"

Nice comeback.

"And besides, even if I would get mad—which I wouldn't, by the way—you don't have what it takes to kiss me." It ended in a whisper, hopeful that reverse psychology worked.

Sora's lip twitched with anticipation now. He wanted to show Riku that he could, but he just wasn't sure if he should. "I could, but who'd want to kiss you?"

Riku's smile widened. "Obviously not you, 'cause you couldn't."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Fine! I'll show you then, ya big jerk." Sora's smile widened. But when he flipped his body back around from leaning against Riku to facing him on his knees, his smile had almost disappeared.

Riku's heart pounded loudly in his chest. He couldn't even hear the trees swaying or the leaves rustling. "Your all talk, Sora. Always have been."

Sora's breathing quickened. Maybe this wasn't right... but he wanted to prove Riku wrong. Even if it was only a joke, he hated to be picked on by Riku. "I _will_ show you this time."

"Then go ahead." His reply was husky.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine..." Sora placed his hands on Riku's knees and flexed his body up a little, leaning forward until his face was a few inches from Riku's. Maybe he shouldn't... maybe he should just agree with Riku... Tell him he was right... _Prove _to him that he was right... Like he always did...

No freaking way.

'_Here goes_.'

Sora leaned in and closed the gap between them, pressing his lips onto Riku's soft ones.

For Riku, it was bliss, he didn't even have to initiate anything this time. As Sora's warm mouth covered his shyly, he felt his heart stop beating.

Sora was blushing like crazy as he pushed closer. He felt Riku's lips move against his and pulled back. "S-s-see?"

"I-I guess you're right. But..." He took some time to breathe. "I'm more outgoing. I'm the one who starts the hugs and I've kissed you _twice_." He eyes shone mischievously.

Sora tried to calm his heart and his breathing. Riku was playing with him again. And this time, it sounded like he was challenging him. "_Really_?"

"Yep." Riku lifted an eyebrow. "Definitely."

"Maybe." Sora stood, enjoying the confused look on Riku's face. He's thinking that Sora's just giving up, isn't he? Well he wasn't going to. He'd be more outgoing. He wouldn't do anything _too_ extreme, but extreme enough to prove himself.

Riku's brows furrowed.

"Now, are we gonna leave Roxas in the juvenile department or what?"

Riku blinked, momentarily forgetting what he was talking about. "Oh. Oh, right." He laughed awkwardly. "Well, let's go." He stood and stretched. "Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"You are _so_ lucky my parents didn't see your little act of love." He winked at him, enjoying the shocked look on his face and the blush that spread across his cheeks.

Very cute.

"Oh shut up and drive me downtown." He mumbled and walked to the car.

Riku laughed softly and shook his head. Sora was definitely something. And a part of him swelled with happiness that Sora didn't deny the 'act of _love_' part.

Now then, about Roxas... He'd have to thank him later for getting into trouble. If he hadn't, Sora would have never come over. And after thanking him, he'd have to kill him for getting locked up _again_.

----------

**So... the chapter sucks, I know! But the important thing is that it's out:D I hope everyone enjoyed! And just so you know, after finals week is over, I should have more chapters up. _Longer_ chapters. **

**Anyway, this chapter was just about Sora forgiving Riku. I swear, these chapters are getting more and more angsty! I don't even _like_ angst, and here I am writing it. But that's what I get for planning the plot as I go. lol. **

**So please don't hate me because I'm such a terrible writer and review! It makes me happy and trust me, it makes a difference. I update because when I get reviews, I feel guilty for not updating soon enough. :D It's a nice chain that makes both me and you guys happy. :)**

**And again, Dualism's review made me almost cry! Firstly because of how sincere and genuine the review was and how amazingly nice a person Dualism is! But then I wanted to cry because I felt like I was a big let-down for taking forever to update... I'm so sorry Dualism!!!**

**I'm sorry to everyone again... I should just make chapter five a huge author's note explaining in details why I'm sorry... lol.**

**- Dragon **


	6. Of Felines, Ice Cream, and Umbrellas

**DISCLAIMER: ****Last night I owned Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and all of the characters. It was amazing! But then I woke up.**

Woo! Next chapter is_ out_! I'm currently writing this while hyped up on red bull. Really though, it gives my creative-writing abilities wings; _hee_...

Enjoy:)

----------

**Chapter 5 - To Forgive and Forget?**

"Now, are we gonna leave Roxas in the juvenile department or what?"

Riku blinked, momentarily forgetting what he was talking about. "Oh. Oh, right." He laughed awkwardly. "Well, let's go." He stood and stretched. "Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"You are _so_ lucky my parents didn't see your little act of love." He winked at him, enjoying the shocked look on his face and the blush that spread across his cheeks.

Very cute.

"Oh shut up and drive me downtown." He mumbled and walked to the car.

Riku laughed softly and shook his head. Sora was definitely something. And a part of him swelled with happiness that Sora didn't deny the 'act of _love_' part.

Now then, about Roxas... He'd have to thank him later for getting into trouble. If he hadn't, Sora would have never come over. And after thanking him, he'd have to kill him for getting locked up _again_.

**Chapter 6 - Of Felines, Ice Cream, and Umbrellas **

"Professor, come on!"

"I don't hear pleas from delinquents." A long nose accompanied a thin, balding head as it turned away from the begging boy, tilting upward.

"But—"

"No buts. I'll take my leave now."

"Aw, come on Anura, give the kid a break."

Professor Anura jerked his head toward the source of the voice. "Ex_cuse_ me?"

Riku gave him a haughty smirk. "He's just going through a phase. Why can't you let him off the hook just this once?"

"I remember you..." The sharp-nosed man pointed his finger at Riku, hunching over and stepping forward. "You were—"

"Yep. Two years ago, I gave you the pleasure of my presence."

"Mr. Riku... that's it isn't it? Oh... you were a terrible student." He straightened his posture and crossed his arms, shaking his head from side to side. "Barely passed the class. In fact..." He eyed Roxas. "This... this _troublemaker_ takes after you quite well!"

Roxas ducked his head inside of his cell.

Riku grinned. "What can I say? I'm a role model to many."

Anura snorted. "All of which will end up just as Mr. Roxas here has."

Sora frowned and stepped forward. "That's not true! Riku's—"

Anura's face brightened. "Sora!"

Sora blushed. Great... he was the good boy again. It was embarrassing to be liked so much be everyone all the time. "Erm... hi."

"Young man, what are you doing here with... _Riku_?"

"I... Riku's my—"

"Lover."

Riku and Sora both felt the heat rush to their faces and shock overwhelm them.

Roxas's grin gleamed brightly. "Yep. They've been goin' at it for—"

"_Roxas_! This is why you're here. Good _bye._" Professor Anura pushed through the security guard and walked towards the entrance where Sora and Riku stood glowing like light bulbs. In fact, just the thought of something so... _forbidden_ made the professor blush as well.

"No, _stop_!" Sora jumped out in front of him and extended his arms to block his way.

"Sora, I enjoyed having you in my class last year and I wish to remember you as a good child. Now please."

"But... sir, Roxas doesn't mean what he does, _really_. Whatever he did, I know he's—"

"My cat won't get feeling back in his tail for months! He isn't even the least bit sorry!"

Sora's arms limped slightly and he raised an eyebrow at Roxas. "His _cat_? _That_'s why you're here!?"

"What the _hell_ could you have done to the man's cat Roxas?" Riku stared in awe.

"He purposely chased my dear Rendei with that vile skateboard of his." Anura looked as though he was at the verge of tears.

"No look, I really didn't—"

"And then he ran him over!"

Roxas attempted to interject once again, but with no luck.

"And _now_, I expect you to stay here and think about what you've done! I've let you off many times before, Roxas Saeya, but this is the last straw." He whispered furiously.

"I didn't _try_ to run your cat over, _really_! He just jumped out from behind a bush and I couldn't stop!"

"Oh... _of course_ that's how it happened."

Riku grabbed his arm roughly. "Now listen here, _teach_. Did you _see_ Roxas chase your damn ball of fur?"

Anura stuttered and tried to yank his arm free. "Y-you could be put in there right along with your friend, you know, this is _harassment_!"

"I'll take my chances, now answer the question." Riku's face neared his intimidatingly.

Anura looked over to the security guard. He too looked eager to hear his answer.

Damn.

Sora? The professor looked a the young brunette, but nothing. There wasn't even an ounce of help that was offered to him.

Another stutter escaped him.

"_Well_?" Riku pushed.

Sora was in deep shock at that moment. Here he was, fighting for Roxas's rights, but instead of being hopeful that everything would work out, he felt a twang of jealousy hit him when he saw how close Riku and Anura's faces were. And what the _hell_? Professor Anura was nearly fifty and he _knew_ nothing would _ever_ go on between his best friend and the most annoying bird-nosed teacher on the planet, but still... He thought about the Ferris Wheel and how Riku came close to him too. Dear _god_, he was losing it.

Meanwhile, Anura looked in the eyes of his interrogator, feeling anxious and nervous suddenly. "Well... I-I-I didn't _see_ him... but I—"

"_Ha_!" A happy hoot emerged from the cell and Roxas did a little spin.

"So all of this is just based on you _thinking_ that Roxas hit your cat on purpose..." It was more of a statement than a question, actually.

"N-n-no! Well, you see... h-how can I expect him to do it on accident!? You've seen what he's done before! You can't blame me f-for being _suspicious_." He tilted his head and whispered it quietly, squinting an eye at Riku. "You know how he is." He finished his sentence off with an unintelligible mumble; Riku assumed it was to make some sort of point.

A click resounded in the small room and Sora looked to see Roxas patting the security guard on the shoulder as he left his cell. "Ah... life's good sometimes." He grinned at Anura. "Next time, I just _might_ run your cat over on purpose ya old—"

Sora's eyes widened and he ran over to clamp a hand on the mouth of the younger boy. "Shut up! You _wanna_ come back here!?" He turned to Anura, still being held up halfway by an angry Riku. Sora grinned widely and nervously. "C-continue."

Riku glared. "I swear, Roxas, you end up in here again and I'll let you _rot_." He held tightly onto the old man's collar and dragged him over to the jail cell, shoving him in there. "Lemme borrow this, will ya?" He took the keys from the guard's fisted hand and another click echoed within the building.

Said guard grunted and moved aside, careless confusion radiating from his squinted eyes.

Riku clapped the dust from his hands. "My condolences to your cat, _sir_." He smiled sugar-sweetly and grabbed Roxas's arm to lead him out.

"C-c-come back here! You can't do this to me!" Anura stumbled as he tried to get up. "Y-you there— guard. Let me out this instant."

Said man smirked and shook his head in disbelief that such a strange man existed. He would have loved to leave him in there, but then his job would most likely be at stake. "Yeah, sure."

----------

"C'mon Riku, let go!" Roxas whined as they neared the car.

Sora snorted. "If he lets you go, some unknown force'll drag you back to that place."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I'll be more careful, just let go, okay?"

Riku 's grip tightened and he opened the passenger door. "Get in."

Sora's heart pulsed heavily for a moment when his eyes noticed how tightly Riku held Roxas's wrist. '_Stop it Sora_.' He didn't even _like_ Riku like that. Whenever he thought of him holding _his_ hand or being close to _his_ face, his stomach would drop and he'd feel suddenly nauseated. But even so... He looked away and up into the clouds.

It would rain again that night.

"Let's go Sora! What're you looking at?" Roxas stuck his head out the window and looked up at where Sora gazed. He saw a dark bird fly through the leaves of a tall tree and a dark cloud wavering in place. Nothing spectacular.

"Oh... right." Sora blushed at being caught zoning out.

"I'm pulling up the window Roxas, so if you like your head..." Riku pressed a button.

Roxas drew his head back in immediately and watched the tip of the window disappear into the car. Like a guillotine... He smacked Riku on the arm. "If _you_ were a cat Riku..." He threatened.

Sora closed the door after him and Riku drove off. Just as they did, Roxas looked in the rear view mirror to see Anura pointing at their car and yelling what seemed to be obscenities. He grinned and put his feet up.

"Riku's dad'll kill you if you get his car dirty."

Riku slapped his leg off. "Listen to Sora."

Roxas smirked. "That's your job though, isn't it? _You're_ the one who _listens_ to him... at night... in your bed... when you— _ow_!" Roxas gripped his head. "Jeez, Sora, you can't take a joke!"

Sora's reddened face scrunched up into a weird mixture of shame, shock, disgust, and anxiety. "You're the one who can't shut your_ mouth_!"

"Boys, boys, calm yourselves." Riku chuckled. It scared him how much Roxas's comment excited him, but he let it slide.

The rest of the ride home was awkward. Roxas, however, was pleased at how Riku basically proved him right about the two boys' "relationship".

----------

Sora stretched and let out a yawn. "It's not even noon yet and I'm beat!" He grinned sleepily while he scratched the back of his head. Despite the awkward thoughts that came to him rather often, it was actually a fun morning. He wouldn't do it again, but it was still rather enjoyable.

Riku walked past him after shutting the door rounding the car. He ruffled his hair, smiling at the brunette. "Wanna take a nap?"

Sora immediately stiffened and his face went beet red.

It took a moment to register, but Riku blushed lightly as well when he realized just how Sora took that comment. His hands shot up in defense. "N-n-not together! Just... if you're tired... I'll let you go home and sleep."

Sora exhaled, relieved. "Oh..." He smiled brightly again, this time up at Riku. He didn't like the awful twist their friendship had been experiencing. It was better in the past when there wasn't so much tension. Maybe they could get back to that...? If that was the case, then what was the point of extending the awkwardness? "Nah! How 'bout we go get some ice cream?"

Riku blinked a few times before laughing softly. His hand reached out for Sora's soft, brown locks, but said boy ducked his head and stepped away.

"Not again, Riku!" He laughed, but his tone was serious. Sora liked his hair and all, but it seemed like Riku like it more... and it wasn't even his!

The older boy rolled his eyes. "You _know_ you like it." He winked playfully.

"Yeah right!" It was frustrating having Riku mess up his hair over and over again, just when he felt carefree about his appearance! Who would _like_ having a noogie every few minutes? Not Sora. Well, not _much_.

----------

The walk to the ice cream shop was long..._excruciatingly _long. It had gotten colder as the day went on, and even though it was only half past noon, the temperature had surely dropped at least twenty degrees. There would _definitely_ be a storm that night.

But the length was only partly due to the cold.

The twenty minute walk to the shop soon became twenty five minutes, then thirty, then forty five. Some of the roads had darkened and the palms surrounding the streets made them look menacing. Sora had refused to go through it.

So Riku had to take him the there the long way.

Therefore, the long, _cold_ walk to buy the _cold_ ice cream was very... cold. Riku wanted so badly to warm his body with Sora's, maybe even just grab his hand to channel warmth from one body to another.

But no.

Sora wouldn't stand for that and Riku did _not_ want to make him unhappy.

So he settled for "accidentally" bumping arms every once in a while.

"Riku?" A shudder ran up and down Sora's spine.

Riku tried to keep how cold he was hidden from Sora. Sora never did like when Riku complained, so he wouldn't risk annoying him. "Yeah?"

"I'm _cold_." He sniffled.

Riku sighed, exasperated. Yet here Sora was, _complaining_. But he couldn't help feeling terrible about it. It was his fault after all that Sora was cold. _He_ was the one who insisted that the ice cream shop was close and they didn't need a car. He looked down at him, watching as Sora hugged himself and lifted his shoulders to trap in as much warmth as he could. Riku grinned mentally.

He could now base any further actions on Sora's benefit.

"C'mere." Riku took hold of the hem of the younger boy's shirt and dragged him off to a nearby bench. "Let's warm up before we keep going."

Sora gulped. '_What?_' "Warm up" by Riku's standards did not mean finding a building to thaw in. Rather, it most likely meant using _body heat_, seeing as Riku had recently aqcuired a liking for human contact— namely from Sora.

As the walked to the bench, which seemed like it was acres away, the passed a few people who stared at them.

Sora felt unnerved. He knew it was because of their attire— Sora wore a sleeveless shirt and baggy shorts while Riku was a tight-fitting tank with loose capri pants. They were clothes for a warm summer's day... _not_ for a day of just over sixty degrees.

Damn storm season.

Nevertheless, Sora thought that he and Riku looked like a _couple_. Maybe it just seemed that way to him because Riku was acting so strangely... Since Riku was starting to feel stronger about Sora than just friends (and Sora could most definitely tell), he felt a little paranoid that everyone could see that. And thank god Riku wasn't holding his hand; _that_ would kill him.

Sora shook his head. '_Stop it._' It was wrong to be thinking so lowly of Riku as if he were revolting. That wasn't how best friends were.

Sora's face set into a determined frown. He would be nice to Riku and say only the right things, but he would _not_ allow himself to be held by another guy so intimately. Sora was_ not_ gay. And Riku wasn't either! He was just... confused...

While Sora thought hard about the upcoming hugfest Riku had in mind, Riku was biting his lip and thinking about something completely different. Sora didn't need to be dragged anymore, for he was following on his own accord, but Riku continued to keep his hand fisted around his shirt. Each time Sora stepped forward a little too much and Riku didn't walk fast _enough_, Riku's hand would bump against Sora's bare stomach. He prayed Sora wouldn't realize that it was being done on purpose, and he knew he should have stopped.

But it was so gloriously warm! And Riku felt dejected that this might be the only time he would ever get to touch Sora's skin.

The approached the bench. "Here, sit." Riku yanked on Sora's shirt until he came around and sat on the bench.

"Ya know, I could've sat down by myself, you didn't have to shove me down." Sora pouted, already breaking his promise to himself about being _nice_.

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, but I'm cold and I can't wait for you to sit down _properly_."

Sora let a smile escape him. "And _you're_ gonna sit down properly?" He reached out for Riku's wrist and pulled him down onto the bench.

Riku gasped as he fell beside Sora; thigh by thigh, shoulder to shoulder.

_Very_ close.

Sora laughed. "Now were even."

Riku stared at him for a short moment, hesitating before pulling his arm away from Sora's hold. He smiled playfully. "_I_ was careful when I made you sit. _You_," he poked Sora in the chest. "weren't."

Sora blinked.

"So we're not even." Riku leaned forward, bumping noses. He had no clue what the hell he was doing... _again_.

Sora's cheeks were tinted with a light blush. He enjoyed the warmth that Riku eminated immensely! But... he was so close. He wouldn't... _kiss him_ in front of all these people... would he?

Oh he would. They _both_ knew it.

But god was smiling down upon Sora that afternoon. An icy droplet of rain fell and hit Riku on the nose. Then another on his shoulder, and on his hand—which currently rested two long fingers on Sora's lower thigh. They both shuddered from the sudden chill.

Okay, so maybe it was an unfriendly smile, but it did stop Riku's actions.

The rain came faster and harder, and soon, Riku and Sora were drenched. Sora shuttered and stood. "Riku! C-come on!"

Riku's hair covered his face on both sides and he struggled to get it away. Water dripped down his nose and into his mouth, which he spurted out. "Where?!"

They were on a long street with only the beach on one side and a line of palms on the other. The closest thing to shelter was the bench they were sitting on.

"I don't know,; t-t-to find somewhere to s-stay!" Sora shuddered violently. The rain had nearly turned to snow with how cold it was. There went another fifteen degrees. "Riku, I'm cold, p-please!"

As if an angel watched over them, a couple walked past and looked at the two boys with pity. The woman whispered something to the man and he looked slightly annoyed, but he nodded.

Riku watched as they ran to their car at the end of one side of the street. The man walked the lady around to her side of the car and she got in. But, instead of jumping in the car and driving off, the man circled around the car and ran over towards Sora and Riku, handing them the umbrella and pulling up his jacket over his head to keep the rain from hitting him. "Always bring an umbrella when it's raining, boys!" And off he went, with barely a smile.

Riku quickly ducked under the umbrella as the car drove off and pulled Sora under with him.

"Shit! It's _cold_!" Riku shook his hair and, while Sora held the handle, he squeezed out the water. He looked over at Sora, who trembled. His eyes were cold and he held onto the umbrella with both hands, as if one hand would surely drop it.

Riku stepped a little closer and wrapped his arms around Sora, pulling him back to the bench. He pulled Sora's head to his chest and held tightly onto his shoulder. "Just for a little while, okay?" He spoke into his ear. Riku saw the small hairs rise on Sora's neck as his warm breath hit his frozen skin. His heart leapt. "Don't want you catching pneumonia." He chuckled halfheartedly. Sora was so warm.

Sora's heart pounded furiously inside of his chest. This time, couldn't see anything wrong with the situation. Sora and Riku were both soaked and freezing, so it was okay that they were so close... right? But he was being held by _Riku_. He again broke his promise to himself, darn it!

"R-Riku, we sh-shou—"

"Shh..." He whispered soothingly. "Just relax. I promise I won't do anything." That last bit stung him as he said it. He had to reassure Sora that he wouldn't try anything because Sora didn't trust him...

Sora sighed shakily. "Just this once..." He hated how quick he gave into Riku.

Riku smiled and pulled Sora closer if possible. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Sora's left leg was exposed to the rain and there wasn't enough of the umbrella to cover up both of them completely. His brows furrowed in thought, then the imaginary light bulb dinged. He gripped Sora's leg right under his knee. The shorts he wore rose up as they sat down, so Riku had the privilege to touch his skin once more.

At the sound of Sora's gasp, Riku nuzzled his face into the boy's wet hair. "Don't worry so much, Sora." He laughed huskily.

Sora's skin tingled where Riku's hand was located. _Why_ was it _there_?

Riku soon showed his motives by pulling Sora's leg up and onto his lap. "There. Now you're not getting wet." The smile on his face would not go away. He couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten today!

The brunette couldn't help but smile too. Riku was always so thoughtful... and this really was much better than before. "Thanks, Riku."

Riku took a deep breath, feeling wonderful. "No problem, smallfry."

Sora grunted in annoyance, but quickly laughed right along with Riku.

Said silver-haired boy shivered. He was happy Sora was warm, and he was warming up too! But... much of his body was still uncovered.

Sora noticed Riku's tremble. With a quick thought, Sora stuck the umbrella handle in between their bodies, which were close enough to be able to hold the umbrella in place and right-side up. Hell, they were close enough to kill any blood cells that might have ventured between them. His right arm slid under Riku's back and his hand gripped his upper arm, while his left arm snaked around his waist. He buried his face into Riku's chest to keep the older boy from seeing his blush. Maybe now Riku would be warm... he owed this to him.

But Riku _did_ notice Sora's embarrassment. It wasn't that difficult to see. He smiled anyway, face bright red and stomach exploding with butterflies. Sora was so _cute_.

"Thanks."

Sora smiled, his heart swelling. He didn't know what to say to him anymore. His body totally stiffened when Riku began moving the hand that still rested on his leg up and down.

"Friction equals warmth. You're the good student aren't you? You should know that."

Sora looked up at him. "Well yeah, but I'm too cold to think now..."

Riku quirked an eyebrow. "Too cold? I thought I was keeping you warm?"

Sora frowned. "Hardly."

"Oh _really_?"

"Yeah!"

Riku grinned and placed his forehead on Sora's. "You're such a liar." He mocked.

Sora's breathing quickened. Here we go again. Riku always got him into these situations. He _knew_ Sora was quick to anger and he took full advantage of it in times like these. And the worst part was, Sora knew what he was doing, but he was drawn to the small spats they had that he kept going. "At least I'm not annoying..." He mumbled.

Riku laughed genuinely. "Good comeback." He rolled his eyes.

Sora felt a smile tug at his lips. "I'm t—"

"Too cold to think of a comeback now?" Riku whispered, gazing deeply into Sora's sapphire eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen.

Woah.

_Definite_ gay thought. Things like these always bothered him a bit, but he ceased to worry about it, since it was obvious that he _liked_ Sora. A lot. _A lot_ a lot.

Sora stared back with similar thoughts. Riku had pretty eyes, that was undeniable. Even the most macho straight man in the world would have to admit. But it scared Sora to no end when he thought things like _this_ about Riku.

Ugh! He _hated_ teenage drama and here he was experiencing the biggest drama of his life!

"Yeah..." He murmured, not able to get his voice to rise above a soft whisper. "So do something about it." Only after saying it, Sora realized what he said. '_Oh no!_'

Riku panted short breaths, eyes moving from Sora's eyes to his luscious pink lips. "You want me to do something about it?"

Sora mind was spinning. His inner self was screaming at him, throwing mental bombs and giving slaps that would put a pro-wrestler to shame. '_Say no! Say no! Oh my god just say no!_'

"Yeah." Inner-Sora keeled over in defeat, panicking.

Without wasting another moment, Riku pressed his lips to Sora's soft ones, tightening his hold on him.

Sora's heart beat a thousand miles a minute, his brain was screaming against this but he couldn't hear it. His eyes fluttered closed against his will and his hand securely fisted around Riku's shirt.

Riku felt as though his breathing had halted. He pushed closer, tilting his head. The feeling of Sora's mouth covering his own was blissful. He was so warm; so delicate. Riku slightly parted his lips against Sora's, closing them again around the brunette's lower lip.

It took all Sora had not to moan out loud at Riku's action. This was his second kiss, but his first _real_ kiss. He couldn't move; it seemed as though he was trapped between Riku and a hard place, and Riku seemed like a better option. A blush spread across his cheeks as he felt Riku's mouth open once more and a wet tongue lick his bottom lip. Riku was being extremely gentle and it was hard not to admit that this whole experience was somewhat... _arousing_.

Riku pulled his tongue back in and pressed closer, nipping at his lip.

_Amazing_.

Sora's lips were on fire; his entire _body_ was on fire. He had forgotten the cold, forgotten the rain. It was only himself and Riku. But when Riku bit his lip, it brought forth a sensation Sora hadn't known. And that's when it happened.

He _moaned._

As soon as he did, Riku pulled back, being brought into reality by the delightful sound of pleasure made by Sora.

This was wrong, and Sora didn't want this.

Sora gasped as Riku suddenly pulled away. But then he realized what he had just been doing—what _they_ had just been doing. And his face threatened to explode. He looked away and slammed his head down on Riku's chest, squeezing his eyes shut.

Riku's eyes were closed too. He took a deep breath and panted. '_Dammit_.'

Why was everything always so awkward!?

Sora counted to ten before opening his eyes again. This time, he couldn't be mad at Riku for the kiss because Sora didn't pull back... so it was technically his fault too.

The rain had slowed and Sora decided it was time to go. "Riku...?" He whispered, afraid of what his voice might sound like if he spoke loudly and clearly. It might sound as though he was going through puberty again...

Riku hummed in response. Who knew it was possible for a hum to sound so guilty.

"Um, it-it's... we should go now, the storm's getting better." Sora mumbled the last part, tired of talking to him without bursting into tears.

Riku stiffened as he felt Sora move away. A rush of cold air hit his skin when the younger boy stood and took his warmth with him. Raindrops fell atop Sora's head as he waited for Riku to stand. "Uh, you can use the umbrella. I-I'm hot now, so I need some cold air." He stretched nervously and swallowed the heavy lump that had formed in his throat.

He was freezing.

Riku felt guilty and hurt that Sora didn't want to share the umbrella with him.

No.

Sora _was_ cold. And he _would_ use the umbrella.

Sora looked up in wonder when he felt the rain stop hitting him. The umbrella... He turned to face a grinning Riku, anxiety radiating from him.

"Kanako will murder me if I let you get sick."

Sora laughed through his teeth. "I guess so... erm... let's head back. I think we have, um, ice cream at my house too."

Riku smiled. He felt a little better as he walked close behind Sora, but not close enough to touch him.

'_Stupid. I _told_ you to say no_.' Inner-Sora was becoming a real pain. Sora sighed. Riku was so close to him. A part of him wanted to slow down or just stop suddenly so that he could feel Riku's warmth on him again. He shook his head.

"Oh!"

Sora jumped and halted, turning around with wide eyes, glowering at him for surprising him.

Riku walked right into him.

Well, he got his wish! Sora blushed. "What?"

Riku pulled out his phone. A guilty smile lit his face. "I think it's dead now..." He laughed nevously. "Too much water."

Sora just stared. Then he burst out laughing. "You mean... we could've called for a ride?" He should have been mad, yet here he was, _laughing_.

Riku's smile widened. "Yeah..." He was both happy and angry that he didn't call for help. "So, ice cream at your house?"

Sora smiled brightly. "How about after a nap? I'm kind of tired." He yawned sleepily. It was a long day thus far and Sora couldn't wait for it to end.

----------

The walk to Sora's house was devastatingly silent. Neither of the two boys spoke a word or even looked at one another. So many emotions were building up inside Riku and Sora that if someone didn't say something soon, someone was sure to explode.

"Sora?" Riku looked down at his feet as they shuffled behind Sora's.

"Hmm?"

Riku groaned. Why was expressing his feelings always such an arduous task? "I'm sorry about, you know..."

Sora averted his eyes to the cloudy sky. "It's no big deal. Don't be sorry..."

Riku's eyes widened noticeably. Was Sora being serious? He really wasn't mad? A smile graced his features and before he knew what he was doing, one of his arms encircled Sora's neck and the other ruffled his hair. A loud, happy laugh escaped him.

Sora gripped the arm that choked him for support. This was a surprise. "R-Riku!?"

He let go and cleared his throat, dusting Sora's shoulders off. "Tell Kanoko I said hi!"

Without realizing it, they had reached Sora's home and Riku was shifting his weight from one leg to another.

"So..."

Sora put on a smile. "I'll call you when I wake—_ah_!"

Riku moved away from his sudden hug and stared into Sora's eyes. "You call and get the ice cream ready. I'll take vanilla." And with a wave, Riku ran home, umbrella still clutched in his hands.

Sora walked in and closed his door.

"Sora?" Kanoko's head peeped at him through the kitchen door. "Hi honey, how was your date?"

Sora blushed. "_Mom_! It wasn't a date...!"

Kanoko stepped out into the open and patted him on the head.

"And what's with everyone touching my hair?! Can't you guys just leave me along for a minute!?" He quickly climbed the stairs to his room and slammed the door.

Kanoko sighed and smiled cheerfully. Things were looking brighter in Sora and Riku's future.

----------

Sora leaned against his bedroom door and slid down to the floor. He closed his eyes and gripped his chest to calm him pounding heart. '_Why is this happening? It _was_ like a date..._'

The day started off terrible, then just when things had gotten better, life decided that the dark, black pit into oblivion looked inviting and dove right in.

Not only had he _allowed_ Riku to kiss him, he had _moaned_ in response to Riku's lips moving against his. He had told himself he wasn't gay; that he loved girls, not guys, but he let himself be kissed by his best _male_ friend.

How could he live with himself now? His mother would surely have a field day when... well _if_ he told her, but things between Riku would never be the same again.

However... one thing was for sure. That was the best kiss he had ever had in his life. Granted, it was the _only_ real kiss, but Sora doubted there would ever be a better kiss.

And that confession made him break down.

----------

**Chapter 6 came out pretty fast, shockingly enough! I'm more or less excited for it. There are many points of this chapter that I liked, and many that I didn't. I am very proud of how the characters are turning out and how Riku and Sora's relationship is progressing:) I'm just not happy with how the chapters end up sounding in the end... maybe it's just because I'm the writer and they say your worst critic is yourself. Dunno. :P It's just, my past chapters are sounding much better than my recent ones... so I'm a little disappointed. But I hope you guys liked this. And I'm sorry that it's one of the _shorter_ chapters of 'Vicissitude'.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews, guys! They really make me happy. :) Oh, and _insailyfreakishgirllime_, thank you for stalking!!!****  
**

**- Dragon **


	7. The Tables Do Turn

**DISCLAIMER: **Seriously, why is this even here? The disclaimer's sole purpose is to state the obvious and make the authors feel suicidal by rubbing in the sad, sad fact. Of _course_ I don't own Kingdom Hearts... thanks so much for making me hate my life.

**So! I was pleased with the reviews! I'm so happy you guys liked the chapter that much! Looking back at it, I feel that I should drink more Red Bull when writing fanfics. It's technically not cheating, considering it simply slaps me out of writer's block... I'm thinking I'll go out and buy a case or six of Monster (better taste plus bigger can equals **_**mmm**_**...inspiration...) for the next few chapters... But I'll probably have millions of errors in my writing due to how hard my hands will be shaking.**

**Enjoy:)**

--

**Chapter 6 - Of Felines, Ice Cream, and Umbrellas**

Sora leaned against his bedroom door and slid down to the floor. He closed his eyes and gripped his chest to calm his pounding heart. '_Why is this happening? It _was_ like a date..._'

The day started off terrible, then just when things had gotten better, life decided that the dark, black pit into oblivion looked inviting and dove right in.

Not only had he _allowed_ Riku to kiss him, he had _moaned_ in response to Riku's lips moving against his. He had told himself he wasn't gay; that he loved girls, not guys, but he let himself be kissed by his best _male_ friend.

How could he live with himself now? His mother would surely have a field day when... well _if_ he told her, but things between Riku would never be the same again.

However... one thing was for sure. That was the best kiss he had ever had in his life. Granted, it was the _only_ real kiss, but Sora doubted there would ever be a better kiss.

And that confession made him break down.

--

**Chapter 7 - The Tables Do Turn**

4:07

Riku tapped his chin and flipped over onto his back, his head hanging off the bed.

4:08

He stated impatiently at the bright red numbers on his alarm clock. Everyone always said time went by so fast. You'd blink and everyone would be grown up—days, weeks, years would pass. There was no time in the world to do anything, more or less _breathe_. Time could not be taken advantage of because it passed by so fast...

People were liars.

Time was cynical. There was plenty of it to go around. Especially now, when Riku wanted so desperately for it to hurry up and go faster!

4:09

Only three hours had passed. Technically it was 4:06, but Riku took comfort in adding a few extra minutes onto his alarm. It made him feel better.

He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his eye lids. "So-ra..." His voice sang out the brunette's name in agony, wanting to say it to his face. He opened an eye to peek at the digital numbers.

4:09

'_Shit_.'

4:10

His stomach lurched and he jumped up from his bed. This was useless. A walk would do him good... preferably a walk to Sora's house.

--

Three hours. He laid in that godforsaken bed for _three _hours. His bladder was about to burst, his stomach; explode with hunger, and his mind; go crazy from irritation. When he closed his eyes that afternoon, there were no sheep to be counted, no small bleating balls of wool running amuck in his head. There was only a constant replay of that wretched kiss from earlier.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't _completely_ wretched. Just kind of.

Sora blushed and shoved his body to the side, pressing his face into the pillow that carelessly leaned against the wall. He let out a howl of frustration, then promptly proceeded to turn back around, and continue watching the kiss over and over again.

What was the point of laying there, torturing himself? Was it because he felt the need to be tortured? Like he had sinned earlier or something?

Maybe...

But, Sora didn't feel like kissing Riku was a sin. _Liking_ it was a freaking sin, but Sora wouldn't dare go there. Only gays liked gay kisses. And Sora was _not _gay.

But what if... Riku was?

Sora blushed and covered his eyes with the pale yellow pillow.

And then it came to him— an epiphany! He would completely forget about everything by putting his mind towards something else! Like a swim at the beach...

Sora grinned halfheartedly and jumped out of bed to put his swim trunks on. On his way down the stairs—after using the bathroom and making sure he looked just right—his mother was mumbling something about a recipe for beef goulash and whether or not he'd like it spicy, but he really couldn't care less. Spicy to his mother was just about what a toddler would deem as mild, so either way it was a win-win situation. Spicy foods didn't settle too well with him. "Anything you want, mom, I'll be at the beach!"

As he opened the door, a knuckle made heavy contact with his left eyebrow. "Ow! Riku, what the hell?!"

Riku's face flushed. Oops. "S-Sora, I didn't know you were opening the door! Sorry," He placed a hand on Sora's, which rubbed the injured area furiously. "Does it hurt?"

Sora shot him a look. "No, not really, I'm just trying to rub off the hair." He rolled his eyes and turned around. "God _damn_ it!" More pain came in great amounts.

Kanoko gasped and moved the ice pack away from Sora's face. She was only trying to help, she really didn't think he'd spin around so fast and lunge in her direction. "I'm so sorry Sora!" She whispered feverishly, grabbing both of his hands from his face and placing small kisses on his eyebrow and forehead. When she pulled away she looked at his reddened face and smiled warmly; motherly. "Better now?"

Sora grunted a 'no', feeling awkward to have his mother kiss the 'boo-boo's' on his seventeen-year-old face.

Her smile broadened. "Oh I'm sure... Now," She patted the dust from his shoulders and bent over to pick up the blue-green towel her son had dropped. "No seconds on dessert tonight for that dirty little mouth of yours." She patted his lips with a finger and giggled as she walked away. "Have fun at the beach, honey!"

Sora gaped at her and his blush deepened.

Riku chuckled behind him and walked off the porch, sitting on the grass under the tree in Sora's front yard. He kind of wished he could be the one to kiss away Sora's pain. Hell, he'd kiss _anything _for Sora. A blush ran across his face as well. What a thought...

"Hey, you there by the tree, Silent Assassin!"

Riku looked over to see Sora shuffling towards him. He had changed out of his swimming trunks and was wearing bright blue shorts and a white t-shirt. He grinned. "Silent Assassin? Me?" A perfectly shaped dark silver eyebrow shot up questioningly yet playfully.

Sora snorted. "Yeah you. Try to kill me again and I'll _hang_ you in this tree." He nodded up towards the branches menacingly.

Riku laughed and nudged the younger boy. "You can't really call it _killing_, ya know. I tried to knock on your door, but it turned into your face. Purely accidental."

Sora couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. "You and mom had the whole thing planned I bet. 'Hey Riku, come over and blind my kid so I can give him a concussion with my ice cubes. That oughta teach him a thing or two.' Just like that."

Riku tried to catch his breathe. "Teach? What exactly are we teaching you by putting you into a coma?"

"A lesson."

"Why a lesson?"

A thoughtful look flashed through his eyes. For a moment, they became sad with realization. "'cause I've been a bastard to my mother. _I'd_ call you over to knock me out for that." He laughed.

Riku leaned closer unconsciously, hugging his legs to his chest and staring up at the tree. "Hey,"

"Hmm?"

"There's a nest up there..."

Sora's brows furrowed and he cocked his head upward. "Nest?"

"Yeah, you know, the things birds lay their eggs in?"

Sora glared. "I _know_ what a nest is. But why's it there? We don't get many birds near our house. Mom's always using these pesticides for her flowers and they give off this weird smell. We haven't gotten many rabbits, squirrels, birds, or anything lately. I swear it's something illegal she had smuggled onto the island." He shuddered.

Riku laughed again. He loved being around Sora. "Then why's there a nest in your tree?"

"I don't know, Riku, what do you want me to say?"

Riku's eyes gleamed. "Nothing really, just having some fun."

Sora felt like he was being wrongfully interrogated. "Uh huh..." He gasped when Riku suddenly decided to stand up. "Where're you going?"

Riku, still gazing at the nest, stuck out his hand like a surgeon to his nurse. "Ladder."

Sora's eyes widened noticeably. "_Ladder_?! You're gonna _climb_ up there? Isn't there that thing about if you get your smell around the bird's nest, it won't come back? What if there are _eggs_, Riku?" Sora paced small lines back and forth, rubbing his hands together like a maniac. If Riku got his scent on the eggs, the mother-bird would never come back and the babies would die. He was freaking out, even Riku could see that.

But he just simply rolled his eyes and pushed his arm out further, shaking it. "Jeez, Sora, relax. It's not like I'm gonna _rub_ myself onto the nest. I'm just going to take a quick look inside."

"But—"

"_Ladder_."

Sora turned his head downcast, defeated. And he walked off to the garage.

--

More than halfway up the ladder, Riku shrieked and hugged himself to the wooden steps. "Shit, Sora, stop moving the ladder!"

Sora gulped. "S-sorry." He squeaked.

"If you _dar_e say sorry when I break my neck—"

His hands shot up defensively. "Okay, okay! God—"

The ladder wobbled. "_Sora_!?"

The brunette made a noise and put his hands back on the ladder. Oops... again.

Riku sighed, this was a bad idea. He continued making his way further up in the tree. As soon as he was surrounded by deep green leaves and spiky bark, he peered around for the nest. It was about a foot and a half to the left of him. "Sora?"

"Yeah?" Oh brother. Was he doing something wrong again? Was Riku going to tell him that he was holding the ladder _too_ firmly? Or maybe he was standing too far to the left.

"Hold on tight, okay? I'm leaning over to take a look."

He nodded, even though he knew that Riku couldn't see him do it.

With a deep breath, Riku hooked a hand on a nearby branch and leaned his weight on it, pushing his head out to look over the edge of his nest. His heart twisted.

Sora was growing impatient. Riku had been looking inside the nest for a pretty long time now. Was there anything or wasn't there? "_Well_?"

Said boy jumped out of his reverie and turned his attention to Sora. "What?"

"Is there a TV in there or something?"

"Oh, no... just..." He sighed for the millionth time and came back down. Running a hand through his silvery locks, he made eye contact with the younger boy. "There were no eggs." A half-grin appeared on his face.

The tension that welled all over his body in the past ten minutes disintegrated immediately and Sora let out a long breath of relief.

"But, uh, there _were_ baby birds."

Riku had nearly mumbled, so Sora almost missed it. He stared wide-eyed. "Wh-wha...?"

"And they didn't look too good..."

Sora wasn't what you'd call an animal lover. He wasn't in touch with his feminine side when it came to things in the 'cute' category. But he did care about life, and these babies were losing theirs. So... what now?

Riku looked back up at the nest and then down at Sora again. "Their mom's not coming back, you know."

He knew. "B-but, maybe if we just leave it alone..."

Riku was nearly seething. "Then they'll die. God, Sora, don't you ever use that brain of yours?! It's been raining for days, freezing at night, and windy in the afternoon." He noticed how Sora shifted his weight uncomfortably, giving in slowly. "You still want to wait?"

"No. But what can we do?"

Riku hesitated for a moment, thinking to himself about their situation. "Well," He let himself smile. "Do you wanna be the mom or dad?"

Sora's eyes got huge. "Wh-wh-what?"

Riku laughed. "We'll take care of them. Yeah, sure we don't have a clue about how to raise three baby birds, but that's why God invented the internet."

Sora glared. "First of all, isn't it, like, _illegal_ to take in a wild animal? And second, God didn't invent the internet, some guy did."

Another laugh. "I don't think dying baby bluebirds are wild animals."

Sora opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Besides, God made that guy."

Sora stepped closer to the ladder. "You don't even believe in God, Riku."

Riku stepped closer to _him_. "But I believe in doing the right thing."

He looked at him narrowly. "That's so corny."

Riku burst into another round of laughter. "Maybe, but you know I'm right." He winked.

Sora ignored that small action. "Okay, fine."

"Which one of us are going up there to get them?"

A look of pain settled on Sora's features. Not excruciating pain, but nauseated pain. This was definitely an anxiety-prone decision they were making. Who would take the bluebirds away from the shelter of the tree? Who would take them away from the only place their mother knows where to look for them? Who would risk their mother coming back, only to see her babies were gone? So difficult...

Sora's eyes met Riku's beautiful light blue ones. "You can go."

Riku blinked at him. "Again?"

"I'll hold onto the ladder better this time."

He raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh huh, I'm sure you will."

Sora smacked him on the arm. "I will."

"Okay, okay..." He chuckled and placed his right hand on one step and his left foot on another. "Here I go."

The way up was relatively easier this time. Sora didn't let the ladder wobble as much so Riku only lost his footing once. But luckily, he was quick to regain his composure. When he reached the top, he did the same procedure as earlier and looked into the nest. The little birds were laying in a small triangle, breathing quickly with closed eyes. Their skin was a pinkish orange and only a few feathers had begun to grow. Maybe they were sick.

Riku unhooked the twigs of the nest from the branch of the tree and somehow lodged the small wooden bowl into his zip-up vest. "There we go..."

"Riku, are you done yet?"

"Hold on Sora. I can't do this in half a second." He stepped down slowly and stood by Sora.

The younger boy averted his eyes from his best friend's face. "Sorry... I just feel weird doing this. I'm...nervous. What if they—"

Riku placed the nest on a step of the ladder and put his hand on the back of Sora's neck, pulling him closer. His thumb made small circles where it rested.

Sora had to bite his lip to hold back a noise.

"All new parents feel like this when they have a baby. But don't worry, daddy's here to help you take care of them." He grinned and placed his head on top of Sora's, enjoying the thought of being a family.

Sora's face burned with embarrassment and he jerked away. "_Daddy_? Why do you get to be the dad?" He didn't even realize the implication of his words at the time he said them. By saying it the way he did, he gave the idea that he didn't mind being a parent with Riku, only that he didn't get to be the father in the relationship. But he let that pass, almost sure that Riku wasn't going to catch it.

Riku looked at him like it was obvious, but with a smile, of course. "Well I _am_ the one who went through the trouble of getting them."

Sora crossed his hands. "So? Aren't _girls_ the ones who go into labor and have the babies?"

"So you're saying I'm a girl?" He raised a delicate brow and stepped closer.

Sora's blush increased. "N-no! J-just,"

"No? Then I _am_ a guy?"

"Well yeah…"

"So I'm the dad."

"But I'm a guy too! And it's _my_ house…" He mumbled, feeling childish for having to resort to claims.

"Exactly, it's _your _house; you should've saved them from the tree. I only got them 'cause you were scared. So since I was brave, I get to pick first. And come on, Sora," He moved closer, causing Sora to bump his back against the tree. Their bodies were slightly touching. Before Riku could think some more about what he was going to say, it just came out. "You're so much prettier than I am. You have to be the mom."

And he was immensely thankful that he had said it. The blush on Sora's face made it completely worth it.

"I-I'm not prettier than you." He mumbled and looked away. "Guys aren't supposed to be pretty..."

Riku didn't like that. He curled a finger under Sora's chin and pulled it up, forcing him to look at him. "But you're an exception. You're beautiful..." The last part was a whisper.

Sora felt his eyelids grow heavy as Riku leaned in closer. He could feel the warmth of Riku's face and the way their breath mingled. "N-not in front of the children..." It barely came out of his mouth. If he had hesitated a second later, he would have let Riku do as he pleased...

Riku lost his cool and couldn't help laughing. "You really _are_ a mom." He pressed his forehead against Sora's and let the laughter subside. "Okay, not in front of the babies. But... we'll be alone later."

Sora couldn't swallow— there was a heavy substance... like this glue, in his throat and he could barely breathe. He could feel his heart shooting out against his ribs. Move away, Sora, move away.

He couldn't.

All he could do was stare into those amazing sea-colored eyes and attempt to stop himself from passing out.

Riku could not believe he had just said that. But Sora seemed to like it... so maybe it wasn't a bad thing? And he wasn't pushing Riku away either… so maybe Sora was developing feelings for him?

"Th-the birds... let's take care of them..." His voice was dream-like.

Riku grunted in agreement and rubbed his nose against Sora's. "Sure. But I'm the dad."

Sora blinked slowly and looked away. "But—"

"Dad's are dominant, and I'm apparently _much_ more dominant than you are."

Sora eyed him, but then just nodded and walked towards the nest. His blush was increasing with every step he took towards Riku. Good God, _please_ tell him that he was straight! Sora wanted so badly to know that he wasn't gay. If Riku was, then fine, but he just wanted proof that he _himself_ was a hundred, thousand, million percent _straight_!

As he came in front of the nest, his thoughts of Riku vanished. He was anxious now; worried, nervous, scared, curious...

His breath caught and his heart stopped when he looked in. The babies looked awful. "Riku..." He whispered.

Riku threw an arm around Sora's waist, letting it rest on his hip. "Ugly, I know. But hey, all babies're ugly when they're born. Your mom showed me your hospital pictures. Damn, Sora, you looked like a dried cat."

Sora shot him another glare. "You probably weren't any cuter either _Riku_."

Riku leaned in and stuck out his tongue. "But I'm cuter now."

Sora began to say something, but then stopped. He hated his next thought, it was _so_ gay. Riku _was_ cute. Really cute. "Whatever." He mumbled solemnly.

A huge grin spread on Riku's face. It reached from ear to ear. Sora just implied that he was cute. He hadn't denied anything!

"Can we just take them inside now?"

Riku continued smiling. "Yeah, let's go to your room. We can use your computer."

Sora was about to ask why it would be his room that the birds would live in, but he figured it didn't matter. And they'd get more privacy at his house.

At that moment, when they crossed the walkway and stepped into Sora's house, he had no idea why he suddenly felt excited about having privacy with Riku.

--

"So... _'Care of Abandoned Baby Birds'_. That seems about right." He mumbled to himself, not really knowing what he was looking for. He skimmed through the first paragraph and a half. "Hey Sora, c'mere. Do these look like our birds to you?" He spotted a sentence or two in the third paragraph. "Do ours look hungry?"

Swallowing heavily and finally removing his wide eyes from the three helpless animals, he shakily walked over and leaned into the screen next to Riku. "Not really... they look more dead than anything..." He mumbled regrettably.

Riku shoved the leather chair back until it wheeled over to the bed. The nest lay on a short navy blue towel. In it, the babies were in the same position as before, breathing quickly. "You idiot, they're not dead."

Sora growled mentally. "So? They'll be dead soon 'cause we moved them— Oh! Hey, look! It says to bring them to a vet if things don't look good." Even if they would die soon, maybe they should give them a fair chance... He turned to the older boy by the bed. "You used to have a dog, where's your old vet?"

"Er... the dog died six years ago, so... I'm not really sure. Somewhere along the north coast, I think. My parents probably know."

Sora was way ahead of him. He pulled the receiver from the wall and began dialing Riku's home phone number. He knew it by heart— it was like reciting his ABC's.

Riku rolled his eyes as Sora began questioning his mother.

--

"Doctor Raizen?" The name was so familiar yet so peculiar on his tongue. "You here?" Riku peered into the room from behind the door frame. "_Hello_?" No one answered, so he walked in for a closer look.

Sora went in after him, reproachfully. He held the nest tightly to his chest, but carefully enough not to squish the babies. The room was medium sized and bright white. One wall was a pale green color with paw prints running along the corners and middle. Other than the various tables, tools, and equipment, it seemed... empty.

"Raizen, hey, are you in here?" Riku pushed back the curtain from a corner of the room.

Nothing.

"Here to see me?"

Riku spun around, bashing his elbow into Sora's arm, causing the younger boy to bite his lip and let out a squeak of pain.

"_Riku_!" He whispered angrily.

But he didn't acknowledge him. In front of Riku was the cause of the fright. There stood an awkward man, tall with brownish gray hair. He seemed to be in his mid-fifties. A grin spread across his face at the familiarity of the kind face. "Hey doc."

Raizen smiled warmly. "Hello, Riku. Your mother called to say you're coming in today. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Did you get a new pet?"

Riku laughed nervously. "Well, not really. We, um, kinda found these..." He gently took the nest from Sora's hands and placed it on the table that divided Sora and Riku from the elderly veterinarian.

"We sort of took them from their tree. I don't think their mom was coming back and they seemed sick when I went up there to check so..."

"So you want me to give them a check up." He smiled softly again.

Sora stepped forward. "We don't have much money, but if we can just get an idea of when they'll d—_Oof_!" Straight in the stomach.

Riku shook his head, giving him a warning. "Sorry, Sora's got this crazy thought that they'll die soon..."

Raizen was immersed in the baby birds. He tilted the nest gently and looked over, on, and under them. "No, they look perfectly fine to me. They're just hungry, that's all. If you give them some food, they'll definitely live."

Sora blinked. "Really?" A sudden surge of happiness shot through him. It was mild, but noticeable. "Great!" He grinned.

Riku chuckled. "I thought you wanted them dead."

A pretty blush covered the brunettes face. "I didn't _want_ them dead..."

Raizen handed the nest back to Riku's outstretched hands. "Honestly, I'm not sure why their mother wouldn't be coming back. It seems as though they've already been fed before. Maybe she was on her way. I really think you should have left the nest in it's place." His smile faltered and he pursed his lips. How tragic— these poor baby birds.

Sora felt his eyes water. "I knew it!" He turned to face Riku. "Riku, you said... you said it'd be okay! You... Ri-_ku_..." He groaned.

Sora was much like a woman in labor. His constant mood swings were almost too much to handle. One minute he was swelling with glee, and the next he looked as though suicide was the only option. Riku looked from Sora to the birds and back. He came to a resolution. It would still _be_ okay. "We'll take care of them Sora, just like how we planned. It'll be fine."

A deep green bucket with a picture of a worm was placed on the metal table in front of them. Sora and Riku looked up at Raizen, half perplexed, half thankful.

"Just blend these slightly until it's a coarse mixture and feed it to the birds with a turkey baster." That grin was once more placed radiantly on the man's face, taking years off.

Riku stammered at his generosity. "Th-thank you, but—"

"And as for the price, don't worry about it. Just old friends doing friends a favor." He patted Riku's back and extended a hand out for Sora to shake. "And it was very nice meeting you, young man. I feel so rude for not introducing myself earlier. Forgive me; my name is Akira Raizen. And you are...?"

"Oh, S-Sora..." He murmured and shook the offered hand. He felt suddenly embarrassed as well for not saying anything either.

"Sora, what a nice name. You and Riku have been friends for a while, right?" He nodded, seemingly knowing the answer already.

Sora smiled. "Heh, yeah." Strangely, he felt very proud admitting that.

Riku grinned broadly and put himself into the conversation. "Oh, we're more than just friends, Doc."

The blood rushed to Sora's face and Raizen's eyebrows lifted, confused and surprised.

"We've decided to adopt the baby birds, so now we're _parents_ too." He winked at Sora. "Isn't that right, _honey_?"

Raizen cleared his throat quietly. Oh, so that was it. The sheepish blush that tinted his cheeks at Riku's announcement faded quickly. He thought perhaps Riku meant that he and this boy were... And then something clicked.

"Ah! _Sora_! That's right!"

The look Sora gave him made him clear his throat again, this time louder, embarrassed by his sudden outburst.

"I just mean that, I remember you now." He smiled happily, as if proud of his memory. "Riku used to come in all the time with Parru, and while the nurses cleaned the cuts, he would show me pictures and tell me stories about a little boy he seemed quite fond of."

The blush was back, and Sora tried desperately to force it back.

Riku's smile deepened. "Oh yeah!" He looked at Sora. That was before these confounded feelings started to surface. But then again, he had always felt a certain way for Sora. Maybe it just wasn't as clear what that feeling was _then_ as it is _now._ He snapped out of it, continuing with his previous thought. "I used to tell him about our adventures in the creek, and then when Parru was hurt, I'd make up some story about pirates. Man, Doc, you never did tell anyone about all the times Parru almost died." A wave of sadness crashed against the shore of Riku's aqua eyes, but as soon as it had come, Sora noticed it was gone.

Parru was Riku's dog. He was a big thing, with dark gray fur and long legs that were strong enough to carry both a six year old Sora and a seven year old Riku across a wide meadow. Even in typhoon season. The dog was around for a long time, but one day... the ocean had it's way with him. Riku didn't accept that he was gone until years after.

"Well of course not. As a doctor, I'm not allowed to share my patients' information with anyone else."

He agreed. Riku swayed unconsciously in his spot, eyeing Sora from the corner of his eye. "Maybe we should get back now." His eyes met the doctor's. "Thanks for everything. Sora's mom's a great cook, maybe she can make you a cake or something."

Raizen put his hands out. "No, no, it was simply a favor."

"Well, we'll see anyway, right Sora?"

Sora nodded and smiled shyly.

"Alright." He laughed. "Be safe on your way home, you two."

After waving goodbye, Raizen watched the two teen boys leave his office, happy to see an old face again. Riku was really a bright child, and he used to be one of his favorite regulars, too. He loved the imagination the boy brought with him every time he came. It really was as thought Riku was another son to him. As they walked through the doorway, Raizen noticed how Riku placed his hand on the brown-haired boy's lower back and leaned closer. He also noticed Sora's blush immediately afterwards. Maybe there _was_ something going on after all... But Riku _was_ technically a patient, so he wouldn't bring this up with his parents. It might just be a misunderstanding. With a furrowed brow and a shake of his head, Raizen returned to the back room to finish filing his documents.

--

Riku fell back onto Sora's soft bed with a stretch and a groan. "Ugh, what a long day!"

Sora shuddered. "What a gross day..." They had just finished making a chunky worm smoothie and the image of it could not be removed from Sora's fragile mind.

The long slithering pink worms being thrown into their glass funeral. Then… the silver blades cutting and blending the small critters into a frothy, bubbly, gray, and _slimy_ substance. Disgusting.

Riku laughed and patted the space to the left of him. "What lucky little birdies they are to have such a nice mommy and daddy. You did good today. Almost choked one of them, but hey, everyone makes mistakes the first time around."

Sora blushed yet again. He was becoming quite accustomed to blushing lately. Pretty soon, he would be so used to it, he wouldn't be able to tell if he was or wasn't. "Yeah, well, you dropped one of them."

"But I caught it, now stop talking and come lay down." He yawned and looked over at the alarm clock.

7:14

Not bad. It wasn't too late, but he was still pretty tired. The birds were a hassle since they left the doctor's office. They woke up in the car and started crying out for food. After they reached Sora's house, they wouldn't stop crying, even with the turkey basters shoved down their throats. And when Riku was sure they were full, they started chirping again. In the end, they just needed some time to settle. But getting the worms, and blending the worms, and making—yes, making—a softer bed-slash-nest for them, all complete with Sora's mother scuttling across the kitchen floor trying to finish cooking the dessert, proved to be much more difficult for two teenage boys that it might seem.

It was all over now thankfully, and there was enough mush in the fridge for feeding the babies in the morning when they were hungry without having to go through hell making it again.

However, due to the difficulty they've had with the birds, and after having talked about the hazards (to the birds) of taking care of them, Sora decided it was best if they just gave the birds to Dr. Raizen. Riku agreed hesitantly… He would have much rather continued being Sora's pseudo-husband.

Peeking up at Sora, he realized he was just watching him and not coming to lay by him. He was about to complain, but he followed his gaze down to... he gulped. When Riku had stretched, his shirt lifted and about two inches of his stomach was exposed. And now... Sora had been staring.

He became very excited at the idea that Sora liked his body. "Sora?" It sounded huskier than he wanted it to.

Said boy blinked and looked up at his friend, blushing an insane color of red when he saw Riku's subtle smirk. He'd been caught! His inner self shrunk down to minuscule size. But he really couldn't help it. His eyes ere just been wandering and they landed on Riku's smooth, pale skin, with his abs just barely hinted through the layer of skin. He told himself to get a grip and look away, but it was so hard.

"Uh, I-I-I-I... um, I..." He stuttered dumbly and looked down at his feet, embarrassed beyond belief.

A warm pair of hands gripped his own and pulled. His eyes met Riku's. "R-Riku, I'm not tired, I—"

"You don't have to be, but just lay down next to me, okay?"

Sora's heart was pounding.

After everything they'd been through; all the awkwardness and the kisses, he thought Riku would rid himself of this phase and be done being _this way_. But no. And even though he wanted to be mad at him, he couldn't find it in himself to come up with this feeling called 'anger' that came to him so easily before.

Damn it.

Riku's cheeks glowed with a light pink tint and his stomach erupted with butterflies. No, with dragons it seemed. He laid back down on the bed and pulled Sora towards him. But because Sora's leg hit the edge of the bed, he didn't fall as smoothly as Riku did. And instead of falling next to Riku, he fell on top of Riku.

Sora gasped and felt his face heat up. "S-Sorry." He whispered.

Riku gazed up at his eyes. His hands trailed up from his wrists, to his arms, to his shoulders, and finally rested on the back and side of his neck. "S'okay..." He slurred back.

Sora rested on his elbows which were propped up on both sides of Riku's head. He stared down at him, breathing slowly.

"Sora."

"Yeah?" It seemed as though his voice had left him, leaving nothing but a faded whisper in it's place.

"You really are pretty." Riku's voice was low and his eyes continuously moved from Sora's eyes, to Sora's neck, to Sora's lips.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit..._ "I-I am?" He didn't know why it hit him just now. Riku called him pretty before and he didn't like it. Now, however, he wanted nothing more than to be told he was pretty for the rest of his life. Preferably by a silver-headed...

Stop!

This was _wrong_. Yet...

Riku's weight channeled to his hands on Sora's neck. Sora felt the heaviness of his limbs pulling his head down closer to Riku's. Their faces were a mere few inches away. At this moment, their kiss from the bench replayed in Sora's head.

Flashback

_Riku pressed his lips to Sora's soft ones, tightening his hold on him._

_Sora's heart beat a thousand miles a minute, his brain was screaming against this but he couldn't hear it. His eyes fluttered closed against his will and his hand securely fisted around Riku's shirt._

_Riku felt as though his breathing had halted. He pushed closer, tilting his head. The feeling of Sora's mouth covering his own was blissful. He was so warm; so delicate. Riku slightly parted his lips against Sora's, closing them again around the brunette's lower lip._

_It took all Sora had not to moan out loud at Riku's action. This was his second kiss, but his first _real_ kiss. He couldn't move; it seemed as though he was trapped between Riku and a hard place, and Riku seemed like a better option. A blush spread across his cheeks as he felt Riku's mouth open once more and a wet tongue lick his bottom lip. Riku was being extremely gentle and it was hard not to admit that this whole experience was somewhat... _arousing_._

_Riku pulled his tongue back in and pressed closer, nipping at his lip._

Amazing_._

_Sora's lips were on fire; his entire body was on fire. He had forgotten the cold, forgotten the rain. It was only himself and Riku. But when Riku bit his lip, it brought forth a sensation Sora hadn't known. And that's when it happened._

_He _moaned_._

End Flashback

That time in the park, Riku's lips were so soft and gentle against his own. They moved perfectly, as if Riku was born knowing how to kiss. Which he probably was...

Sora felt a sudden want, a _need_, to feel Riku's mouth on his again. Even if only for a moment, he wanted to experience another warm, passionate kiss from him, regardless of the fact that this was what he was against all this time. He stared down at his lips and, unknowingly, his tongue darted out and wet his lips.

Riku noticed this gesture. Sora was really in for it now. "Sora...?"

A mewling sound emitted from Sora's throat, answering him.

His breath came out in quiet, deep, pants. "I really... really... _really_, want to kiss you."

Sora's heart violently shot out against his ribs. Oh god.

Riku continued pulling Sora's head closer. Their lips weren't pressed together, but the tip of each boys' mouth was touching the other. Riku inhaled the scent of Sora, taking in his half-lidded eyes, his gazed look, his flushed cheeks. Riku was having difficulty staying conscious. The bed was getting smaller and smaller and if felt like Sora was getting closer. "Sora... _please_...?"

Something inside of him broke. His sanity probably. Riku's glazed, pleading eyes were too much for him. Sora slammed his lips down on Riku's and, for the first time, _he_ kissed _him_.

But it was Riku who, even though he was shocked, took control of the kiss. It was extremely gentle at first. Riku kept his lips closed and simply touched their lips together. Then he started moving them open and closed, taking in Sora's bottom lip and sucking delicately. His tongue left his mouth to taste Sora. His hand tightened on the back of his neck, and his other tangled itself into Sora's brown spikes, pulling him closer.

Sora's eyes watered. If felt so heavenly... A flurry of dirty thoughts whipped through his mind, but he ignored them. He held back a loud moan as soon as Riku started biting his lip again. He tilted his head slightly into the older boy's for better access to the kiss. Why did he like it so much?

Riku was trembling. He wanted Sora so badly. He wanted everything about Sora... A moan escaped him as he felt Sora begin to respond. This surprised him greatly. Riku had been nipping and sucking and licking Sora's lip, then stopping to kiss him, when Sora, out of nowhere, came out and enveloped Riku's lip in between his, making shy, awkward movements of his own.

And it felt wonderful.

"God, Sora..." He moaned again as Sora's hands dug under his neck and gripped him tightly.

"_Riku..._"He squeaked out, then purred as Riku flipped them over and buried his head into the crook of Sora's neck.

Sora tilted his head every which way, moaning quietly and pulling Riku closer. He couldn't get enough. Riku was enticing.

Riku's body completely enveloped Sora's small frame. He arched his back up and pressed his hips close to Sora's. If this didn't stop...

"Dinner's rea— _Good_ness!"

Riku stopped his love bites and looked up at the door.

Kanoko, Sora's mom, stood there, blushing and covering her mouth. When she moved her hands away, her smile was so bright, so magnificent, it would have put the sun to shame. "Oh, my!" And with that, she turned around and left the room, skipping giddily down the steps and into the kitchen.

Sora shot up in the bed and cupped his mouth, crawling away from Riku. _Oh god, oh god_!

Riku grinned. "We've been caught." He came closer, an inch from Sora's face. "But she looked okay with it." He laughed and quickly placed a kiss onto Sora's lips before leaning back in for another one.

Sora shook his head. Riku seemed oblivious to the awkwardness that was quickly filling the room.

A spark of pain flashed through Riku's eyes, but for just a moment. After that, he was back on track. A fine, silvery eyebrow rose and seemed to grin on its own at Sora. "Shy?" Riku's voice cracked with another laugh, this time more excited than it had sounded since a long, long time ago. He leaned in for yet another kiss.

Sora's breath halted and his eyes glittered with tears. His mother had just caught him. Sora had just caught _himself _doing something completely… There were no words for it, but he was mortified, to put it mildly. And in this moment of crisis, Riku, his best friend, didn't see his discomfort. Yet here Sora was, scared to death after what happened. He didn't just kiss Riku—that wouldn't have been nearly as bad, seeing as they had done it before—but he liked it, he _started _it.

He couldn't think, he couldn't speak. He could only use actions to express himself and his feelings; his anger, fear, and guilt.

In a quick flurry of movement and shrieks, his palm collided with Riku's jaw in a devastating collision. The sound echoed in the small room in a duet with Sora's tiny shriek and then, everything went silent.

Riku had to grip onto the baseboard of the bed to keep from tumbling over the edge. He was, to say the least, shocked out of his mind.

And hurt.

You can_not _forget hurt.

The pain he felt in his cheek numbed, but the feeling of a crack deepening slowly and painfully in his heart could not be cleared with _any_ anesthetic or any amount of time. It resonated in his ears, deafening him.

In all of his life, and especially in these short days that he had made his love, like, lust, whatever it was, clear to himself, he had never been more sure than he was now that he was wrong. He was terribly wrong about one _main_ thing— Sora, no matter how much Riku dreamed, wished, or imagined, would never, _ever_ feel the same.

Sora didn't want him. Sora was disgusted by Riku's kiss; by Riku's touches.

Now Sora might hate him.

The pushing away from before came back to him. All the awkwardness that Sora forced upon any given situation in which Riku was intimate became clear. Riku had been listening and paying attention to Sora's discomfort, yet at the same time, he'd been completely blind to it. He had thought that maybe, in time, Sora would see that Riku's love was genuine and a hell of a lot better than any girl could offer. But he was just being a pompous, ignorant jerk.

And he could see that now.

He would take these newfound feelings and lock them up. The key would never be uncovered and the chest, never opened.

Slowly, Riku heaved his body off of the bed, making quick, heavy footsteps out the room and down the stairs. He ignored Kanoko's generous offer of staying for dinner, boasting about how particularly spicy her goulash was going to be and how she _knew_ Riku _loved_ spicy foods. He could hear the underlying meaning of the phrase 'spicy foods' in her tone, obviously referring to her son in the little scene she had the pleasure of walking in on. He ignored the chirping of the awakening birds in the living room. He even ignored the soft pitter patter of the beginning of the hundredth storm that little island has seen within the last week.

He just wanted to go home and sleep. And hopefully never wake up.

--

Sora stayed frozen in his awkward position in between the wall and the weightless air. His outstretched arm remained in place, not moving an inch. His eyes stared blankly yet intently ahead.

What had he _done_?

His bright blue eyes, not dimming in realization, skimmed over his fingertips and finally landed square on his palm. He looked it over, analyzing every millimeter; every cell, quite possibly. His other hand moved up to run every finger across the tingling skin. Sora couldn't get it into his head that he had just struck Riku.

Hard.

And when he _did_ accept the fact that it wasn't a daydream and that he _did_, in fact, hit him, he didn't know what to do.

--

**Don't really know what this sparked, but hey, whatever goes, goes. And anyway, I rather like it, despite it's repetitiveness. It's somewhat unique, and provided plenty of awkward moments for me to write. And I **_**love **_**awkward moments (writing them, not experiencing them... lol). **

**The beginning was kind of slow, but there was fluff at the end! So yeah, it was kind of exciting to make Sora more into Riku. He's falling for him! It'll take some time before he's head over heels for the guy, but for now it's good enough. And please ignore the bit of angst and the annoying ending. Thank you!**

**Anyway, I **_**like **_**what happened in the end, it's turning out exactly as I want it to! Yes! I was debating nonstop about adding some more to the end and not leaving it so… morose… but I decided not to. However, I promise you all one thing, one **_**big **_**thing. This will be the last angsty chapter for a long, long time. The rest should be more lighthearted, cute, humorous, coincidental, and of course, awkward. Damn, should've called myself "AwkwardDragon"… **

**Oh, and I'll give you a clue now as to what'll happen, okay? If you want to read it, go ahead, if you don't, don't! 'Tis italicized below!**

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_Now Riku will be disheartened about Sora hitting him, and he'll think Sora doesn't want him in any other way than as a friend. So he'll ignore his feelings and won't come on to him anymore. Sora, on the other hand, starts to recognize feelings for him, and he starts to _want_ Riku to do things. How will this play out? We'll see... ;)_

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**Woo! Please ignore the spoiler in **_**italics**_** if you don't like knowing what will happen. It's just a very broad idea of what'll happen though, nothing big.**

**Okay! Please review and give me some much preferred constructive criticism! Or some nice comments saying you, like, worship me or something. Kidding… though that **_**would**_** be nice, lol. And I'll try to have more up in about a month or so after I come back from vacation. Thank god for **_**SUMMER**_**!**

**HAGS all. :)**

**- Dragon**


	8. Author's Note!

-1Hey guys! :D

So, I'm ecstatic that some of you have still been reviewing my stories, even after this long period of ignorance on my part. Let my just say that I have not given up on my stories, and so please, I beg of you all, don't give up on me either. I'm going through a rough time. Well, somewhat rough. I'm dealing with college things and my social life seems to be at its peak, lol.

It's not that I have no further interest in Inuyasha, or Harry Potter, or Kingdom Hearts, it's just that I've had less of an interest in keeping up with my writing. You know how it is.

It's like music. You find a song you absolutely adore, and you binge. And then the song gets incredibly old, and you just don't have the patience to listen to it another time. But then after not listening to the song for a while, you go back to hear just one more time, and you think, 'Oh! Why in the world did I ever stop listening to this?'.

Well, it's like that with my stories. I'm a at point in life where I've fan fiction-ed my self out. So a little more time, I'll be able to come back and write, write, write! This has happened many times before, as some of my loyal followers would know. So no worries!

Please keep reviewing! But you don't really have to keep reminding me to post, lol. I mean, you can if you really want to, but I have the fullest intention of continuing these stories.

- Dragon


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